
Class 

Book._ : 

GopyiightlJ^ 

CQEmiGHT DEPOSIT. 



b 



George Miller Sternberg 



A BIOGRAPHY 



by his wife 
Martha L. Sternberg 



CHICAGO 

American Medical Association 

TivE Hundred and TiiitTY-FivE Nokth Deakborn Street 

19 JO 



^i' 



CorYBicHT, 1920 

BY THB 
AmRRICAN MkDICAL AstOCtATION 



©c 



PREFACE 



The following pages have been written in the sincere hope 
that the hfe and work of General Sternberg may serve as an 
inspiration to the present and future generations of American 
physicians to achieve renown in the science of preventive 
medicine. 

To my near friends who have known of my efforts and 
have given me encouragement and sympathy, I desire to 
express my thanks. I am especially indebted to Dr. George 
M. Kober and Mr. Emile Berliner for aid and encouragement 
in my work, and to Drs. Fielding H. Garrison and Frank J. 
Stockman, both of the Surgeon-General's Library, for the 
revision of the manuscript for the press. Last but not least 
I desire to express my heartfelt thanks to the Board of Trus- 
tees of the American Medical Association for undertaking the 
publication of this volume, and also to Dr. George H. Simmons, 
the distinguished editor of its Journal, for valuable suggestions 
in the preparation of the manuscript. 



MARTHA L. STERNBERG. 



Washington, D. C. 
May 20, 1920 



FOREWORD 



This biography of General Sternberg is a historical record of 
especial interest to the medical profession and to the medical 
officers of the United States Army. Written by his widow, 
the companion and co-worker of his active life, it is authorita- 
tive. Of unusual charm are the chapters dealing with army 
life in the old days at the Southern and Western posts, a theme 
which has been usually dealt with only by our novelists. The 
record of the military and scientific career of the man himself 
is of permanent value. 

The story of General Sternberg's Hfe is one of arduous 
devotion to duty, of unflagging industry and of unexcelled 
patriotism. Entering the Army in 1861, at the age of 23, he 
served through the Civil War with courage and ability. It is 
said that he saw more active service on the battle field and in 
Indian campaigns than any other medical officer of his time. 
After the Civil War, he acquired an unusual experience in 
dealing with epidemics of cholera and yellow fever, and was 
himself a temporary victim of the latter disease. His interest 
in these infections led him to take up the study of bacteriology, 
in which he was originally self-taught. He was the pioneer 
bacteriologist of this country. 

Through his books on the value of commercial disinfectants, 
on bacteriology, malarial fever, immunity and serum therapy, 
he was the earliest to teach American physicians the funda- 
mental principles and technic of bacteriology, including the 
culture methods and photomicrography. In 1880, he discovered 
the micro-organism of pneumonia, before Pasteur announced 
his findings. He was the first in this country to show the 
organisms of malarial fever, cholera and tuberculosis. His 
researches on malarial fever and yellow fever made it clear 
that neither of these diseases could be caused by a bacterial 
organism. These negative findings were of the utmost impor- 
tance in establishing the true causal relations in these infec- 
tions. We can only appreciate the worth of such researches 



vi FOREWORD 

in the light of Bacon's axiom: "It is easier to evolve the truth 
from error than from confusion." Before their publication, 
confusion reigned. 

As Surgeon-General of the Army (1893-1902), Sternberg 
created the Army Medical School, organized the Army Nurse 
Corps and the Dental Corps, established the Tuberculosis Hos- 
pital at Fort Bayard, and many general hospitals during the 
Spanish-American War. His own early difficulties in acquir- 
ing the knowledge for which he thirsted led him to the liberal- 
minded policy of encouraging medical officers to engage in 
scientific research in laboratories established by him in the 
larger post hospitals. Similar aims resulted in the establish- 
ment by him of the Typhoid Fever Board (Majors Reed, 
Vaughan and Shakespeare), which gave us a new point of 
view for the prevention of this disease; and of the Yellow 
Fever Commission, headed by Major Walter Reed, who, with 
his associates, discovered that yellow fever is transmitted by a 
particular mosquito. The enormous gain to medicine and 
public hygiene through these discoveries is well known. 

Finally, after his retirement from active duty in the Army, 
General Sternberg devoted the evening of his life to social 
welfare activities in Washington, of which his work on sanitary 
improvement of habitations and the care of the tuberculous 
was perhaps the most important. He was highly honored in 
his lifetime, a president of the American Medical Association 
and of many other imjwrtant scientific societies. 

The present volume has been revised for the press by Lieut. - 
Col. F. H. Garrison and Dr. Frank J. Stockman, both of the 
Surgeon-General's Library. Written as it is by a lady of the 
Army, about one of the most eminent of our Medical Corps, I 
cordially commend the book to the medical profession. 

M. W. IRELAND, 
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Early Life 1 

II, Civil War Record 4 

III. After the Civil War 11 

IV. Fort Barrancas 28 

V. In Europe 42 

VI. In the Department of Columbia 46 

VII. The Nez Percys Campaign 53 

VIII. Scientific Research 69 

IX. Yellow Fever Inve.stigations 94 

X. Medical Purveyor at San Francisccj 125 

XL Appointment as Surgeon-General 131 

Xll. International Medical Congrf-ss at Moscow 145 

XIII. President of the American Medical Association 149 

XIV. Spanish-American War 158 

XV. Scientific Achievements During the Spanish-Ameri- 
can War 209 

XVI. Inspection Tour in the Philippine Islands 228 

XVII. Retirement from the Army IVJ 

XVIII. Humanitarian Interests 251 

XIX. Last Contributions to Preventu'e Medicine 266 

XX. General Sternberg's Death 280 

XXI. Congressional Recognition 298 

XXII. Dedication of General Sternberg's Monument 305 

Bibliography of George M. Sternberg 319 

Index 221 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

George Miller Sternbfrg Frontispiece 

George Miller Sternberg 2 

United States General Hospital, Cleveland. Ohio 10 

Honorary Presidents and Secretaries, Section on Military Med- 
icine, Twelfth International Congress of Medicine 148 

United States General Hospital, Fort Myer. Va 172 

Medals Awarded to George Miller Sternberg 254 

George Miller Sternberg, 1912 264 

Havana Yellow Fever Commission 274 

Photomicrographs of Yellow Fever Blood 275 

Monument to George Miller Sternbkrc 306 



CHAPTER ONE 

EARLY LIFE 

George Miller Sternberg was born at Hartwick Seminary, 
Otsego County, New York, June 8, 1838. He was the eldest 
son of the Rev. Levi Sternberg, A.M., D.D., and Margaret 
Levering [Miller] Sternberg. His surroundings in early child- 
hood made a lasting impression on him, and through life he 
cherished a fond memory of the beautiful quiet valley and of 
the hills over which he had roamed, made famous by the writ- 
ings of Fenimore Cooper. 

His father, born in Schoharie County, New York, in 1814, 
was the youngest son of John and Anna Sternberg, and was 
descended from one of the oldest Lutheran families of the Pala- 
tinate who settled in Schoharie and the Mohawk valleys at an 
early date.^ Imbued with the desire for a liberal education, in 
1828 he entered Hartwick Seminary, where he spent five years 
preparing to enter Union College. He possessed a remarkably 
active mind, was an original thinker, positive in his convictions 
and ready to pass intelligent judgment on a variety of subjects. 
He graduated from Union College with honor and from the 
Theological Seminary at Hartwick, and received the degree of 
D.D. from Union College. Later he was chosen principal of 
Hartwick Theological Seminary, and for thirteen years he 
imparted a new impetus to the institution and added largely 
to the number of students. 

Margaret Levering Miller was the eldest daughter of the 
Rev. George B. Miller, D.D., especially learned in ancient and 
modern languages and in theology, and for many years profes- 
sor of theology at Hartwick Seminary. Like her father, she 
was possessed of an unusual faculty in acquiring languages. At 
the age of 19, when she was married, she had a good knowl- 
edge of Latin, read German, Spanish and French with facility, 



1. The first wheat was sown in Schoharie County in the fall of 1713 
and was sown by Lambert Sternberg, in Gerlachsdorf. . . . The 
first bench of Common Plea Judges in Schoharie County consisted of 
William Beckman, Adam P. Vrooman, John M. Brown, David Stern- 
berg and Jonathan Danforth. — History of Schoharie County, p. 5, 606. 



2 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

and spoke French and German quite fluently. She was also an 
accomplished musician and played well on the church organ 
when she was a grandmother. 

From his mother General Sternberg inherited a quiet, unself- 
ish, affectionate disposition which characterized him through- 
out his life. Certain of her physical features were also his — the 
dark hair, the shape of the brow, and the benevolent brown eyes. 
In physique and certain facial features he resembled his father. 
It has been asserted that "if you would give a boy a good edu- 
cation, you must begin with his grandfather." If this be true, 
General Sternberg received peculiar advantages in this respect. 
On his father's side he was descended from an enterprising, 
sturdy race, while on the distaff side, his grandfather and his 
great-grandfather were scholars of Moravian descent. His 
great-grandfather was a learned and devoted minister and 
teacher. 

As a boy of 10 years, George Miller Sternberg was taken by 
his grandmother from Buffalo, N. Y., where his father was in 
charge of a Lutheran Church, to Hart wick Seminary. The 
climate had been too severe for the boy, and his grandmother 
wished to look carefully after his health. He remained for 
some years at Hartwick Seminary and became greatly attacheil 
to the family of his grandfather. When he was 12 years of age 
his father was called to be principal of the institution at Hart- 
wick, and there the boy continued to pursue his studies. At 
13 years he became restless and at his father's solicitation 
obtained a situation in the book store of Mr. Elihu Phinney at 
Cooperstown, N. Y., where he remained for about a year. 
According to his recollection, he devoted every leisure moment 
to reading fiction, books of exciting character giving him the 
greater pleasure. When he was approaching his fourteenth year 
he returned home at the request of his mother to resume his 
studies at the seminary. In the course of his education he was 
always fond of mathematics, chemistr}' and the natural sciences. 
When first he went to Hartwick he began the study of Latin 
and German, but he did not at that age develop the fondness 
for acquiring languages which in past generations had been the 
pride of the family. 

A large and increasing family and the small income which is 
the clergyman's portion caused his father to think seriously at 





1855 



1659 





1869 



1876 





1880 1904 

George Miller Sternberg 



EARLY LIFE 3 

times of the financial situation. To George, the eldest son, the 
father had sometimes confided some embarrassing tribulations, 
and he began to feel the necessity of doing something toward 
relieving the situation. Accordingly, at 16 years of age, he took 
off his "round about coat," put on a frock coat and sought a 
school where he could teach during the winter months. He was 
fortunate enough to secure an engagement at $10 a month and 
"board," in a small and uncomfortable schoolhouse in the hills 
12 miles away. He returned home every Saturday, but separa- 
tion from his mother for protracted periods was a great trial 
and he determined to do better the following winter. Through 
the influence of friends in New Jersey, he secured a school at 
a salary of $20 a month, remaining for about two years, his 
salary being gradually increased until it amounted to $100 a 
quarter. Having saved his money, he returned to Hartwick to 
continue his studies, and to teach in the seminary the branches 
of his preference, namely, mathematics, chemistry, and natural 
philosophy. About this time, he decided to enter medicine and 
began the study of anatomy and physiology under the direction 
of an excellent preceptor. Dr. Horace Lathrop, A. M., M.D., 
Cooperstown, N. Y. Through the kind assistance of Mr. Gran- 
din Bray, a generous uncle resident in California, he was able 
to attend his first course of lectures during the winter of 1859- 
1860 at Buffalo. Later he went to the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons in New York City, where his expenses were again 
met by his uncle. Although this money was not sent as a loan, 
it was later returned by Dr. Sternberg to show his appreciation 
and with the hope that it would be again used to assist some 
other ambitious youth. He received his M.D. degree from the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in the spring of 1860, and 
located at once in Elizabeth City, N. J., where he practiced 
medicine until the outbreak of the Civil War. 



CHAPTER TWO 

CIVIL WAR RECORD 

At the call of his country, Dr. Sternberg appeared before an 
Army Examining Board in New York City and in a class of 
twenty-one he passed a very good examination and received 
appointment as Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Army, May 28, 1861. 
He accepted his commission May 31, 1861, and his first serv- 
ice was in the Army of the Potomac, with the command of 
Gen. George Sykes, from whom he received official commenda- 
tion for courageous services during the battles of Gaines' Mill, 
Turkey Bridge, and Malvern Hill. At the Battle of Bull Run 
he was made a prisoner of war, as recounted in these extracts 
from his letters. 

BATTLE OF BULL RUN 

At half past two o'clock on Sunday morning, July 21, our 
division was aroused by the drum beating the call to "pre- 
pare to march." Soldiers and officers were soon moving 
about and breakfast was hurriedly eaten. Two days' rations 
were given to be carried in the haversacks. It was about 
daybreak when we got under way. After marching some dis- 
tance beyond Centerville, our division under Colonel Hunter, 
which was in the rear, was marched in advance of the divis- 
ion which had previously been in advance of us. We then 
marched through the fields for some distance and afterward 
followed a road through the woods. When we came again 
into an open field, marching a short distance brought us to 
Bull Run above the place where the enemy had chosen their 
position. We heard the report of the cannon nearby, show- 
ing us that our troops in front were already fighting. We 
soon learned we were to be on the enemy's left flank. The 
men all took off their blankets at this place and left them in 
charge of the band and a small guard of men. We then 
forded the run and went at double quick time toward the field 
of action. 

As we approached, we heard continuous volleys of mus- 
ketry, showing that the engagement had become general. Chir 
battalion of Regulars was in the rear of the column. Just as 
they were coming on the field Dr. Keeny rode up to me and 
said that Colonel Hunter was wounded and directed me, my 
assistant hospital steward, attendants and ambulance to fol- 
low him to attend to Colonel Hunter. We found Colonel 



CIVIL WAR RECORD 5 

Hunter leaning against a tree with a wound in his neck 
which proved to be not serious. I saw that I could be of no 
use to him as there were plenty of surgeons around him. I 
therefore hastened with my attendants to find our regulars. 
We found the men just entering into action and some dis- 
tance in advance of all others in our division. The enemy 
was driven before us for some distance and the number of 
their dead and wounded that we passed showed us that they 
had fought desperately. I kept as near our regiment as pos- 
sible, picking up the wounded and putting on simple dress- 
ings and sending them in an ambulance to the surgeons in 
the rear. I attended to very many of the volunteers who 
were wounded, as well as to our own men, and as fast as 
possible sent them off the field in ambulances to a place in the 
woods where a number of senior surgeons had made their 
headquarters. Among others, I sent Lieutenant-Colonel Jones 
of an Alabama regiment, who was severely wounded in the 
thigh. At one time I got into the range of a battery and of 
musketry. The balls whisked about me in every direction. 
Thinking it useless to remain in such a dangerous position, I 
called my steward and attendants and we moved out of range 
of this battery. 

The fight continued until 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 
when our troops began to give way and soon were in full 
retreat ; in fact they became panic stricken. The retreat was 
a complete rout. The men would make no attempt to rally 
and many of them threw away their muskets and cartridge 
boxes, ever}'thing in fact, each one seeming to think of noth- 
ing but personal safety. Our battalion covered the retreat 
on the right in good order. In the beginning of the fight, I 
had tied my horse near a farm house that we were using as a 
hospital, and when I found that the battle was evidently lost 
and the retreat general, I went for my horse — but he was 
gone. I followed the retreating army to a church, where I 
found 280 of our wounded without any attention. I at once 
resolved to remain with them and do what I could to relieve 
their sufferings. Some six or seven surgeons of volunteer 
regiments also remained. We put out a white flag at once 
and commenced doing all we could under the circumstances 
for the poor wounded. I performed several amputations, 
hoping to save life. 

CAPTURE BY THE ENEMY 

About three quarters of an hour after the last of our men 
had passed, a company of the enemy's cavalry arrived at the 
church. The captain asked us for our parole not to attempt 
to escape from the church, which we gave. It began raining 
in the morning and as there was not room for all of the 
wounded in the church, a great many were obliged to be out 



6 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

in the rain. The captain who first captured us had bivou- 
acked near the church. I obtained a detail from him in the 
morning and started them to work to make a sheher. I had 
small trees cut down and a frame erected which was about 
30 feet long and 20 feet wide. I covered this with blankets, 
and placed as many of the wounded as possible under it. On 
Monday evening, the captain told me he had received instruc- 
tions to send us all to Manassas in charge of a lieutenant. 
Some of the surgeons went in ambulances, but I rode a horse 
that the captain furnished mc. It was still raining and very 
cold. We had not had anything to eat since Sunday morn- 
ing, except a cup of corn meal gruel which one of the men 
had made at the church. I was so chilled and exhausted 
when I reached Manassas that I could scarcely sit on my 
horse. After our arrival we were kept waiting in the rain 
for about two hours l>efore it was decided what disposition 
to make of us. . . . 

We were eventually taken to the guard-house where a 
number of other prisoners were confined. Luckily some of 
our men had brought blankets with them. I had none but 
one gentleman had three and he kindly loaned me one. Wc 
wrapped ourselves up in our blankets and lay down in a loft 
of the barn which was used as a guard-house. Xothwith- 
standing our clothes were wet through, we were all sound 
asleep in a very few minutes. In the morning, a piece of salt 
bacon was sent to us on a piece of board. Shortly after par- 
taking uf this breakfast, a colonel came to us with a written 
parole in his hand which he said we might sign, and in case wc 
did so we would be at liberty to go when and where wc 
pleased. The parole was an agreement not to aid or abet the 
enemies of the Confederate States of America in any way 
whatever. Four or five of the surgeons took the parole but 
four of us refused to do so. Those who took it were at 
once sent back to the church to attend to the wounded we had 
been obliged to leave. Those of us who remained, earnestly 
requested that we might be allowed to attend to our wounded. 
A jxirole was therefore offered us which we gladly signed, 
not to attempt to escape or give any information for five 
days. Immediately after taking this we were allowed to go 
about the place at liberty. 

We found a great many of our wounded lying in a shed 
near the railroad. Some of them had only just been brought 
in from the field, having lain all Sunday night, all day Mon- 
day through the rain, and Monday night. The poor fellows 
were in a most pitiable condition, many of their wounds were 
alive with infection of the worst type (maggots) and it 
seemed almost impossible to get the wounds clean. When 
we thought the infection was entirely removed we found on 



CIVIL WAR RECORD 7 

the next change of dressing the wound was badly infected 
again. A train of cars stood waiting and our instructions 
were to dress the wounds as well as possible and put the men 
on the cars which would take them to hospitals at Charlotte 
and Culpeper. We had the train loaded by night and were 
told it would leave in a short time. We therefore went back 
to the loft in the guard-house to sleep, as no other place had 
been provided. In the morning, to our regret and surprise 
we found the cars were not yet gone, and the poor fellows 
had been lying in them all night without any attention. For 
some reason the cars were delayed all of Wednesday and 
did not get off until \\'ednesday night. . . . 

On Thursday we continued to give our attention to the 
wounded at Manassas until evening, when a Dr. Taylor and 
myself were sent to Centerville to attend to some wounded 
who had been left there. . . . Dr. Taylor and myself 
had frequently talked over the chances of escap)e. We found 
an old atlas in a Dr. Alexander's house from which I tore a 
small map of Virginia. From this I ascertained that Wash- 
ington was about east of Centerville. I told the doctor that 
the best plan was to go north for about 1 5 miles and then east 
until we struck the Potomac. By doing so I thought we 
should evade pursuit, and leave the secession troops all to 
the south of us. My parole was up on Sunday at noon. On 
Sunday morning Dr. Taylor was taken back to Manassas. I 
think the intention must have been to take me to Manassas 
as my parole had expired and Dr. Taylor's parole would not 
expire for two days to come. 

ESCAPE 

I took dinner at one o'clock at Dr. Alexander's and went to 
the hospital and saw that all the wounded were comfortable, 
slipped half a dozen crackers into my pocket, lighted a cigar 
and was all ready for my start. Thinking that the sentinels 
at the hospital might suspect my intentions when they saw me 
going towards the woods, I asked them if they knew where 
any real red oak grew. Dr. Alexander having recommended 
a decoction of the bark as an application for .some of the 
wounds. The sentry said there was plenty of it in the woods 
about half a mile north of town. I then started in the direc- 
tion of the woods, and as soon as I had reached it, I gave up 
that leisurely pace which I had taken so far for a more rapid 
gait. I came to a stream after walking about two miles, 
which I thought to be Bull Run. I took off my shoes and 
stockings and forded it ; then continued according to my 
plans to walk in a northerly direction until nearly sundown. 
Then the sun which had been my guide became suddenly 
hidden by clouds and soon it began to rain. I was in a thick 



8 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

wood of second growth pine trees which g^ew so close 
together that I could scarcely make my way between them. 
I kept traveling for about an hour in what I thought to be a 
northerly direction when I came to a small clearing in which 
stood an old house and a log cattle stable. I went into the 
stable until it ceased to rain. It cleared up just as the sun 
was going down behind the hills and I found when I caught 
a glimpse of the sun that I had gotten completely turned 
around while it was hidden by the clouds. I had been travel- 
ing on the back track. I therefore determined not to travel 
any more unless I should see the sun, moon or north star. 
After the rain, I skirted around the edge of the clearing to 
find whether the house was inhabited. Having become satis- 
fied that it was not I went up to it and entered. There was 
nothing in it but a barrel and a door. I placed the door so 
that I might lie upon it, ate one of my crackers, smoked my 
last cigar, and threw myself down upon the door which I 
had placed upon an incline and I went quickly to sleep. 

It seemed as if I had been asleep but a few moments when 
I heard my name called. I jumped suddenly up and said, 
"Well." There was of course no answer. I had been dream- 
ing. On looking out of the window I found it was clear, and 
the moon had just risen. Accordingly I again took my line 
of march going as nearly in the right direction as I could. I 
found it extremely difficult at times to make my way through 
the thick underbrush by the dim light of the moon. I must 
have traveled until about 2 o'clock when it again became 
cloudy and I threw myself down upon the ground and fell 
asleep. When I woke up. the reddish tinge of the clouds in 
the east showed me that the day was breaking; I again trav- 
eled on east, eating blackberries with my crackers, as I went 
along, for my breakfast. I had avoided the open fields and 
houses all along but about noon seeing a man working alone 
in a field I went up to him to ascertain my whereabouts. He 
told me that by continuing about a mile and a half further 
east I would strike the Potomac River; that it was 12 ni' - 
to Washington by the road, and that there were a good n: .: \ 
South Carolina troops along the road. I was verj- cautious 
in crossing the road and fortunately got to the woods on the 
other side without being seen. 

When I reached the river. I took off my clothes and rolled 
them up into a bundle intending to swim across with the 
bundle in one hand, as I had often crossed the Susquehanna 
in my fishing trips at home. But my clothes being wet. were 
so heavy that I did not dare to venture, and I put them on 
and proceeded down the river, intending to construct a raft 
on which to cross. I had collected several pieces of timber 
and was lookinjr for more when I discovered an old boat. 1 



CIVIL WAR RECORD 9 

unfastened it and getting into it let it float down with the 
current. This mode of travehng was so much pleasanter than 
walking through the woods, that I determined to continue it 
as far as possible. . . . My boat ride was stopped about 
five miles from Washington by a dam extending across the 
river which I could not get over. I accordingly landed on 
the Maryland side and proceeded on foot. The first house I 
came to belonged to a kind-hearted Irishman who gave me 
two large bowls of milk and a supply of good bread and but- 
ter, the best I think I ever ate. I learned from him that I 
was five miles from the city. Passing along a little farther 
I fell in with some soldiers of the 6th Maine Regiment. I 
inquired of them where I could hire a horse to take me to the 
city. After hearing my story they said if I would go with 
them to their camp, which was nearby, their colonel would 
send me in. . . . 

When I arrived in camp I was aware that my appearance 
was anything but prepossessing. My clothing was torn and 
wet, and I was worn and weary. I was presented to the 
colonel. He promised to send me to the city in a short time. 
While I was talking with him, a soldier came into the tent 
and asked me if I was not the man he had in the guard-house 
the night before. I told him I was not, but he was very sure 
I was and called four men to prove it. They all declared that 
I was the very man — and I almost began to believe it myself. 
But one of the men happened to see me standing and con- 
cluded that I was at least a head shorter than my facsimile. 
The colonel seemed to forget his promise to send me to the 
city and after waiting for two hours it began to rain and I 
had to give up going until morning. One of the captains 
kindly offered me a bed in his tent and I remained with him 
over night. At five o'clock in the following morning I arose 
and walked to Washington. I had left my trunk before 
starting for the campaign at the house of Mrs. Boyle. 

When I arrived there I hastened to refresh myself with a 
bath and some dry clothing. All my friends seemed rejoiced 
to see me. They had heard that while leaning over a 
wounded man on the field I had been struck by a cannon ball 
and killed. After a short delay I went at once to the house 
of General Scott to report. I was most kindly received by 
him and had a long conversation with him giving all the 
information on the situation that I could. I next reported 
to the Surgeon-General, after which I proceeded to join my 
regiment on Arlington Heights, where the regiment was in 
camp. I was most cordially received by all and you can well 
imagine my pleasure to be again with my fellow officers. In 
the afternoon, I reported to General McDowell with whom 



10 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

I had a long interview. The following morning, our battal- 
ion was ordered to Washington to act as a police force for 
the city until the opening of the campaign in 1862. 

The official records show that Dr. Sternberg was under 
heavy fire while caring for the wounded in the battle of 
Gaines' Mill and Malvern Hill. Brig.-Gen. George Sykes 
in his reports of these battles, and the engagement at Turkey 
Bridge ^ says : 

Dr. Sternberg added largely to the reputation already 
acquired on the disastrous field of Bull Run. He received 
the brevet-commission of Captain and Major for faithful 
and meritorious services during the war. 

Dr. Sternberg was with General Sykes' command in the 
Army of the Potomac until August 29, 1862. He was taken 
sick with typhoid fever at Harrison's Landing and was sent 
north on a Government transf)ort. Recovering, he was 
assigned as executive officer of the U. S. General Hospital 
at Portsmouth Grove, R. I., a hospital containing 2,200 beds. 
In November 1862, he was ordered to accompany General 
Banks' expedition, then organizing in New York City, to 
New Orleans, where he served as assistant to the medical 
director of the Department of the Gulf and with the board 
of health until January, 1864. 

In 1864, he served as Assistant Medical Director at 
Columbus, Ohio, and was later placed in charge of a large 
and complete general hospital at Cleveland, Ohio. He was 
relieved from this post July 5, 1865 and the next tour of 
duty was with the Thirteenth Infantry at JeflFerson Barracks, 
Mo. 



1. War of the Rebellion Records 11: part 2. 352. 




^ 



CHAPTER THREE 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 



Oct. 19, 1865, Dr. Sternberg was married to Miss 
Louisa Russell, daughter of Robert Russell, of Coopers- 
town, N. Y. They went to Jefferson Barracks, where they 
remained until April, 1866, when he was ordered as post sur- 
geon to Fort Harker, Kan. Mrs. Sternberg's health was 
frail and when the order came to go to a frontier post, Dr. 
Sternberg thought it best for his wife to return to her father 
and mother in the East until their future quarters were made 
in readiness. This she did and joined her husband in the 
Far West in the spring of 1867. June 28, cholera appeared 
at Fori Harker, the first cases occurring among members of 
a colored regiment temporarily at the post en route from 
Jefferson Barracks to New Mexico. There were, from June 
28 to August 1, forty-seven cases with thirty-two deaths 
among the troops, besides a number of cases among civilian 
employees. Among the first cases in the civil population of 
the post was Dr. Sternberg's wife, who died July 15, after 
a few hours of illness. 

In Dr. Sternberg's account of this epidemic* he says: 

Many cases, that I am now satisfied were mild cases of 
cholera, were diagnosed at the time as choleraic diarrhea and 
do not appear in the above report, which only contains the 
clear and unmistakable cases. 

Fort Harker is located on high ground about a mile east 
of the Smoky Hill River, at the junction of the Smoky Hill 
road to Denver City and the road to Santa Fe via Fort Zarah 
and the Arkansas River Route. It is 85 miles west of Fort 
Riley and since July 10 has been in railroad communication 
with the East by the completion thus far of the Union Pacific 
R. R., Eastern Division. 

The elevation above the bed of the river is from 60 to 70 
feet. The surface descends to the east, south and west, 
affording excellent drainage. The soil is but 6 to 8 inches 
thick and below is a bed of fine gravel, about 30 feet thick, 
composed mostly of quartz and flint; below this is a bed of 

1. Surgeon-General's Office, Circular No. 1, pp. 29 and 30. Report on 
epidemic cholera and yellow fever in the Army of the United States 
during the year 1867. 



12 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

clay. The bluffs north and east of the fort are composed of 
a recent red sandstone, which contains impressions of the 
leaves of trees of existing species (oak. ash, willow, etc.). 
The water used at the post is obtained from a spring in the 
bank of a creek one-quarter of a mile west from the post. 
The spring issues from the bank about 15 feet above the level 
of the creek, over the stratum of clay, above which is the 
gravel. An examination of the water from the spring in 
July, 1867, showed but a small trace of organic matter. 

During the past year, diarrhea has been of rare occurrence 
among those who have been at the post for any length of 
time. During the month of June, 1867, but twelve cases of 
diarrhea are reported. 

The garrison of the post where cholera first made its 
appearance, consisted of Company E, 37th Infantry (white) 
and Companies H, B, K, 38th Infantry (colored). The com- 
panies of the 38th Infantry had been recently organized at 
Jefferson Barracks and came from there here. ... In 
addition to these troops Company H, 38th Infantr\% and 
Company F, 10th Cavalry (colored) were temporarily in 
camp at a distance of from one-eighth to one-half mile from 
the post on high ground. Four companies of Kansas militia 
were mustered into the United States service and remained 
at the post about two weeks in July during the worst of the 
epidemic. There were also encamped at and around the post 
from 500 to 800 quartermaster's employees (masons, car- 
penters, laborers and teamsters). The number of these was 
constantly varying, many leaving in consequence of the 
epidemic, and others coming from the east. 

The police of the camps was not good when cholera first 
made its appearance. Some of the companies* sinks were in 
a wretched condition, and there were several offensive holes 
about the post where slops and garbage from the kitchen had 
been thrown. Measures were at once taken to remedy these 
evils ; a strict system of policing was inaugurated ; the camps 
were all moved to new grounds and disinfectants were pro- 
cured and freely used. . . . 

The hospital patients were all treated in hospital tents, 
which were pitched about 50 yards in rear of the post hospi- 
tal. Convalescents and uncertain cases were kept in sepv- 
arate tents from the cholera patients. The discharges from 
the patients were all disinfected as soon as passed. 

The history of this epidemic shows that cholera was evi- 
dently introduced by colored troops who arrived at Fort 
Harker from Jefferson Barracks, where the disease pro'ailed 
to the extent of 256 cases with 134 deaths. In view of the 

f:u t tlint it is now believed that cholera, like other intestinal 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 13 

infections, may be transmitted through the agency of flies, 
the following observation of Dr. Sternberg is of special inter- 
est. "There have been an unusual number of flies and mos- 
quitos. Houses have been infested with a large fly which 
diff"ers from the common house-fly." 

INDIAN CAMPAIGNS 

The epidemic being over Dr. Sternberg asked to be relieved 
from duty at Fort Harker and returned east on leave of 
absence in August, 1867. At the expiration of his leave in 
December, 1867, he was ordered to Fort Riley where he was 
post surgeon and on courtmartial duty. 

March 23, 1868, he was directed to report to the command- 
ing officer, Tenth Cavalry, for duty with that regiment on a 
march from Fort Riley to Fort Hays, Kan. These troops, 
under command of Major M. H. Kidd, did more or less 
Indian campaign duty. Sept. 25, 1868, he was assigned as 
chief medical officer to Col. A. Sulley's expedition in the 
field. This expedition was operating against hostile Indians 
south of the Arkansas and the district of upper Arkansas, 
with bases near Fort Dodge, Fort Hays, Kan., and Camp 
Supply, I. T. 

Nov. 7, 1868, Dr. Sternberg pointed out that no medical 
officers were available to accompany trains between Fort 
Dodge and Fort Hayes or the new base of operations. He 
requested two additional oflricers, because "the trains will be 
liable to attack by Indians and accidents will occur to the 
drivers and the escorts while on the road. In one of the 
trains coming from Fort Hayes a few days ago, one man was 
killed and another severely wounded by a stampede among 
the mules. I happened to be on the spot and rendered the 
necessary assistance. I also found several men in the train 
disabled by kicks from mules. There is at present but one 
medical officer on duty with the Infantry Battalion, and two 
with the Seventh Cavalry, so that when companies are 
detached to escort trains, they have to go without medical 
assistance." 

He was relieved from duty as chief medical officer of the 
troops serving in the field south of the Arkansas, Dec. 7, 
1868, and assigned to duty with Maj.-Gen. Sheridan's com- 
mand in the field depot and headquarters on the North Can- 



14 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

adian River, at the junction of Beaver Creek, I. T. This 
expedition, like the others, was for the purpose of subduing 
the Cheyennes and other hostile Indians in and around the 
Indian Territory. There were naturally many alarms and 
exciting pursuits of the Indians, and on the whole Dr. Stem- 
berg spent a trying winter in this almost unexplored countr)'. 
During the marches that he made with the command, he 
became interested in the geological conformation of the coun- 
try, made close observations and copious notes, and collected 
much material. His interest in gathering undescribed fos- 
sils and other animal remains resulted in frequent chidings by 
other officers lest he should be picked off by the Indians while 
securing these specimens. Some of his specimens were for- 
warded to Prof. Joseph Leidy, of Philadelphia, who 
described them in his report on "The Vertebrates of the 
West." The Indian crania, skulls of animals and birds, and 
fossil shells were sent to the Army Medical Museum and 
were acknowledged *'to have been received in erxjd order. 
being very carefully packed." 

FORT RILEY 

March 2, 1869, Dr. Sternberg was relieved from General 
Sheridan's command and ordered to proceed to Fort Hays, 
Kan., and on his arrival to report by letter to the Medical 
Director, Department of the Missouri, for assignment to 
duty. In the summer of 1869, he was again ordered to Fort 
Riley as the Attending Surgeon. This gave him a good 
garrison post, as it was then the school of light artillery. He 
had a fine hospital and a good working force; and there was 
a thriving town at Junction City, just two miles distant, 
where he could secure materials for making photographs and 
for other experimental work in which he was engaged at the 
time. It was my good fortune to begin my own army life 
at this delightful militarj' post in the autumn of 1869. 

I was married to Dr. George M. Sternberg Sept. 1, 1869, 
in Indianapolis, Ind. I am the daughter of Thomas Thurston 
Nelson Pattison, a prominent citizen and pioneer in Indiana, 
descended from a Scotch-Irish ancestor, who settled at an 
early date on the eastern shore of Maryland. My mother, 
Elizabeth Grant [Mauzy] Pattison, was descended from a 
French Huguenot who settled in Virginia. My grandparents 



/ 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 15 X 

were early settlers in Kentucky. Both of my immediate 
grandfathers were ministers of the Gospel and left Ken- 
tucky because of religious convictions ; they did not ^ish to 
rear their children in a state where slaver)^ existed/ There- 
fore, they returned the slaves given them by tWr parents 
when they were married and removed with^their young 
families to the free state of Indiana. 

After my marriage to Dr. Sternberg, we made a brief 
wedding trip and soon returned to Indianapolis in order that 
I might say good-bye to my parents and the friends of my 
youth. The happy moments spent with dear ones flew 
quickly and we started for Fort Riley, Kan., which was to be 
our new home. Even at that date the railroad accommoda- 
tions in the Middle West were good, and we traveled through 
active and progressive states, namely, Indiana. Illinois, Mis- 
souri and Kansas. As a young lady, I knew all this section 
of my country very well, had visited relatives in Cincinnati, 
St. Louis, and other cities; I loved these neighboring states 
as well as my own, and felt sad at leaving for other fields. 
Our entrance into Kansas served to awaken a new instinct 
in me, and I studied constantly and carefully from the car 
the landscape which I knew would be diflferent from that 
which we had just passed. Acres and acres of rich prairie 
land extended at times as far as the eye could see without the 
least obstruction of hill or dale. Some fields were under 
cultivation, others untouched awaiting the farmer who was 
yet to come. We passed some small towns and I was glad 
when I heard that our next stop would be Lawrence, the 
place where John Brown gathered his followers and made 
trouble. But there was no trace of this past event ; it was 
just a quiet little town. Topeka, the capital city, was the 
next stop. 

After Topeka there were fewer towns and the eyes every- 
where beheld vast prairies. Soon we reached the railroad 
station at Fort Riley, at that date a modest little building at 
the base of the bluff, very different from the present one. 
An ambulance drawn by four spirited mules awaited our 
coming and soon carried us on our way up the steep incline. 
We were charmed with the fine substantial stone buildings 
and the general appearance of stability at the post. The site 



16 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

was selected and the post built under the management of 
Major Ogden of the old U. S. Army. The officers' quarters, 
the barracks, the hospital, the stables — in fact, all the build- 
ings at the post — were constructed of a cream-colored stone 
quarried close by. At this time Fort Riley was the school 
for the light batteries of the Army. All the drills, and the 
usual military routine, were vigorously pursued, for there 
was ample space for drill and for maneuvering on the parade 
grounds and surrounding reservation. After the usual duties 
of a post surgeon had been attended to each day, we enjoyed 
our second breakfast, and then took up some study or recre- 
ation, most frequently of outdoor character. We rode on 
horseback over the picturesque hills, whence could be enjoyed 
an extensive view of the valley of the Republican River with 
its cultivated fields and acre on acre of wild flowers. But 
the outings that were enjoyed most were those made to the 
prairies where we gathered quantities of wild flowers and 
grasses. We had to renew our study of botany to aid us in 
identifying the flora of our new surroundings. Sometimes 
we drove in our light phaeton to the neighboring village, two 
and a iialf miles distant, called Junction City from its location 
at the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers. 
The town had railroad communication with the eastern and 
western portions of the state by the Kansas Pacific R. R. 
and with the southern portion by the M., K. & T. R. R. It 
was the county seat of Geary County, and because of its 
banks and other sources of interest, constant intercourse 
existed between it and the garrison. The residents of Junc- 
tion City were educated, ambitious young people, who were 
doing well their part in developing the natural resources of 
a rich state. The liberal professions were well represented 
and, on the whole, it was at that time an interesting and 
thriving place of some 3,000 souls. When Dr. Sternberg 
was selecting quarters, expecting me to join him, he knew his 
tour of duty at Fort Riley would not be of long duration, as 
he had served in that department since April, 1866. The 
demand for quarters was greater than the supply, conse- 
quently my husband gave those to which he was entitled by 
rank to a line officer who was not in robust health in order 
that his friend might be near his company and perform his 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 17 

duty with less fatigue. We accordingly occupied quarters 
known as the sutler's house, built by a man who had accum- 
ulated a comfortable fortune from his post trader's store. 
The house was situated on an elevation and surrounded by 
extensive grounds ; it was much too large, but it had its 
charms, of which the garden and the extensive view were not 
the least. 

INVENTION OF ANEMOMETER 

The many rooms gave Dr. Sternberg facilities for planning 
and developing ideas that were in shape for adoption and 
practical application. One room was used as a laboratory, 
another as a work room in other fields. Having a penchant 
for invention, Dr. Sternberg conceived the idea of improv- 
ing the anemometer, an instrument in use at the hospital every 
day to register and record the direction and force of the 
wind. At that time the medical department of the Army 
was the official agency in this country for recording meteoro- 
logic observations. Having perfected his anemometer, when 
next in Washington he visited the Patent Office to leam 
if he had created anything new, and if so to apply for 
a patent. Much to his surprise, after searching some time, 
it was found that a German had worked on the same line in 
Germany long before this time. The anemometer was per- 
fect, but the imjxjrtant part of his instrument involved the 
same principle as did the one made in Germany. This fact 
naturally entailed disapix)intment, but a sunny disposition 
precluded permanent regret. 

In April, 1870, Dr. Sternberg prepared a report on the cli- 
mate of Fort Riley, which was published in the local paper. 

INVENTION OF HEAT REGULATOR 

While at Fort Riley. Dr. Sternberg was also occupied with 
another important invention. Impressed with the desir- 
ability of maintaining an even temf)erature in hospital wards, 
he sought an automatic device to control the heating appar- 
atus and constructed a thermometer to make and break an 
electric circuit. He perfected it and in 1870, when on duty in 
New York Harbor, displayed it at an exhibition of similar 
inventions at the American Institute, winning a medal and 
certificate. Not long after this, some men interested com- 



18 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

mercially in such matters, communicated with Dr. Stem- 
berg, and proposed to organize a company to introduce and 
manufacture his invention, but this required him to resign his 
commission in the U. S. Army. We talked the matter over, 
but I could not consent for him to give up his profession for 
a position that offered no other interests than building up a 
new commercial enterprise. WTiile the matter was still 
under consideration fortune favored us and an order came 
directing Dr. Sternberg to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor, 
where other thoughts soon crowded out the business proi>- 
osition. No further effort was made to commercialize the 
heat regulator or dispose of the patents, as our situation was 
not favorable for following up the matter. One morning, 
years after, a man called on Dr. Sternberg in Baltimore, say- 
ing he represented a manufacturing establishment in a thriv- 
ing western city. He had learned of the invention of the 
heat regulator and he offered $5,000 for the patents. Dr. 
Sternberg had become deeply interested in the study of yel- 
low fever and bacteriology, and he naturally accepted the 
offer and proceeded to Washington with the purchaser to 
transfer the patents. They had scarcely left when another 
agent called with the information that he had been author- 
ized to offer twice the agreed price. I told him I felt sure 
that Dr. Sternberg considered the sale with the other agent 
completed. Today this regulator is in general use, modified, 
perhaps, and somewhat improved, but the principle involved 
is that of his invention. 

FARMING IN KANSAS 

Fort Riley was always of special interest to me, because 
shortly after my arrival we made a visit of a few days with 
Dr. Sternberg's father and mother, who were living on a 
frontier farm in western Kansas. This trip to the family and 
the spot itself had much interest, for it caused me to know 
even then that Dr. Sternberg was a generous and unselfish 
man. as will appear from the following: 

While stationed at Fort Harker, a frontier post in the 
early history- of the state, some of the officers of the Army 
had secured quarter sections of the fertile land close to the 
post. Dr. Sternberg was especially fortunate in securing a 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 19 

piece of land beautifully situated on the wooded banks of a 
little river about two and a half miles from Fort Harker. At 
the time Dr. Sternberg took up the land, his father was a 
Lutheran minister and president of a college in Iowa, and 
had not visited his son for years. Dr. Sternberg urged his 
father to make him a visit at Fort Harker and the invitation 
was readily accepted. The son was naturally pleased to 
show his father what he had done, and to talk with him of 
the plans for future development of the ranch. His father 
entered into the plans with zeal and interest because he was 
really in love with the situation, and several times he 
remarked what a splendid place it would be for the younger 
boys to develop. While Dr. Sternberg readily acquiesced in 
his opinion he did not think it a fitting place for his refined 
educated mother. 

Shoitly after his father's visit Dr. Sternberg was ordered 
to take the field in the Indian Territory. In correspondence, 
his father had expressed a desire to possess this farm in 
Kansas and finally made an oflfer to purchase it ; but the gen- 
erous son could not think of that. In a quiet and delicate 
way, he made it possible for the father to own the farm, not- 
withstanding he was not wholly in sympathy with the pro- 
ject ; for he was devoted to his lovely mother who, he knew, 
had always enjoyed refined society. He said to me at a 
later date *T could not say *No' when I thought there was a 
prospect that father might lighten the burden of life that had 
been his to bear for so many years of ministerial and college 
work on salaries never very large." 

When his mother arrived, she expressed herself pleased 
with the beauty of nature and the mild climate. She made 
friends at Ellsworth and there were some settlers living miles 
away, representatives of good families in the East, who came 
to call. More settlers came and a town grew up not far away 
where Rev. Dr. Sternberg was asked to take charge of a 
church. The mother played the organ and taught in the Sun- 
day school. With advancing years and fewer cares Mother 
Sternberg began a study of the wild flowers, which she 
painted separately and in bouquets, to impart to her Eastern 
friends an idea of the beauty and interest of the prairies. In 
fact, she kept up her accomplishments, music, painting and 



20 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

correspondence, notwithstanding all the duties a loving 
mother finds in the care of a large family of boys. 

Rev. Dr. Sternberg became recognized as one of the lead- 
ing educators of Kansas. Years of prosperity and adversity 
alternated and while more acres were added and the herds of 
cattle, horses and ponies grew larger, the lot of the average 
farmer and stockraiser in the West was at that time far from 
enviable. These industries brought fatigue, and at times 
very little profit. Meantime the younger brothers were 
growing to manhood and wished for higher education. They 
were descended from a line of college ancestors and did not 
fancy spending their lives on a ranch. One by one they be- 
came interested in various professions and in business. Dr. 
Sternberg as the eldest of the family felt interest in the suc- 
cess of his younger brothers, and he gave them every assist- 
ance from his own salary. 

Some years later, on a visit to the family before going to 
Europe, Dr. Sternberg said to me "Don't you think it would 
be nice to give mother a birthday present of a house in town, 
and give her the deed so that it will be entirely hers? Now 
that the boys are going away it must be lonely for her on the 
farm." I said, *T agree with you and think this would be 
just the time to do it." While we were visiting he told her 
to get a plan for just such a house as she desired, and she 
should have it for her home always. She selected a good 
plan and the house when completed was a great joy to all 
of us. The farm was later sold to become part of a cattle 
ranch owned by a large company. 

governor's island 

The order relieving Dr. Sternberg from Fort Riley took us 
east, and he was assigned to duty at Governor's Island, New 
York Harbor, where he was to be assistant surgeon. We 
arrived there June 23, 1870, and were greatly pleased with 
our new station and the novelty of our surroundings. It was 
a busy post, for at that time there were many military inter- 
ests centered there. It was headquarters of the Department 
of the East, a rendezvous for recruits, with a permanent gar- 
rison to do military duty, and also an ordnance depot. The 
officers' quarters on the outside of Fort Columbus were con- 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 21 

sidered good for the period in which they were built. The 
hospital was almost modern in construction and appoint- 
ments, and ample for the care of patients at so large a post. 
The old fort in the center of the Island was used as barracks 
for the troops on garrison duty, the company officers occupy- 
ing quarters in the inclosure. The large old antiquated fort 
known as Fort William Henry was used to house general 
prisoners from other stations. An interesting little church 
was always shown to visitors as an honored spot, and there 
were pleasant memories associated with the history of the 
post. 

From our quarters, we enjoyed an extensive view of the 
bay and Brooklyn. The constant traffic on the water never 
failed to bring suggestions of life and thrift. The front of 
our quarters faced the parade grounds, and morning and 
evening we listened to the strirring music of the band and 
watched the splendid type of American soldiers step 
promptly and briskly to the commands of the officers in charge 
for ''guard mount" and "retreat." A few months at Gov- 
ernor's Island passed quickly. 

YELLOW FEVER 

Early one morning in September, 1870, my husband 
returned from his duty at the hospital with an anxious, care- 
worn look. I had known for several hours that he was 
watching a patient in the hospital with great care, making 
frequent trips to observe conditions. I therefore begged him 
to tell me the situation, to which importunities he replied: 'T 
suspect we have a serious and unusual form of disease on the 
Island and I am doing all I possibly can to make an early and 
true diagnosis. I fear yellow fever." As the junior medical 
officer, he consulted frequently with the post surgeon, who 
was greatly puzzled, and they requested consultation with the 
physicians of the New York and Brooklyn health depart- 
ments. The disease baffled the combined skill of all. That 
it was a malignant epidemic was certain from the rapidity 
with which the sick list increased and the fact that several 
patients died after a brief illness. At this important moment 
it became known that a surgeon on duty at West Point had 
seen yellow fever in Mexico during his service there. His 



22 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

presence being immediately requested, he supported Dr. 
Sternberg in the provisional diagnosis and it was announced 
that the disease was yellow fever. Meantime all the medical 
men who had been called in consultation had learned of the 
progress of the disease and agreed that it could be no other 
than yellow fever. 

As soon as it was announced that yellow fever was spread- 
ing over the Island the greatest consternation prevailed. 
New York immediately quarantined against Governor's 
Island. The sick were ordered to the West Bank Quaran- 
tine Hospital far down the bay. My husband was detailed to 
accompany them and a steamer was immediately sent to 
transfer the patients. Neither Dr. Sternberg nor I had ever 
had yellow fever at that time. I saw the steamer arrive and 
watched the taking of the sick (eighty patients), each one 
covered closely with a sheet and carried on an iron bed. 
When all was in readiness, my husband ran to me and said: 
"Be a brave little woman. I will come soon to care for you." 
Suppressing my emotions for his sake, I bade him a hasty 
good-bye, ran quickly to the second floor of my deserted home, 
and threw wide open the large windows that overlooked the 
bay. I had not long to wait. The boat had already steamed 
up and soon shoved off. As it passed, I saw my husband 
alone well on the bow of the vessel, waving good-bye to me. 

In a very short time, I was made to realize that I had cares 
and duties which I would have to meet alone. Many new 
patients were stricken, increasing the care and responsibility 
for Dr. Sternberg, as all the patients among enlisted men 
were sent to the quarantine. The chaplain, who occupied the 
quarters next to ours on the east, was suddenly attacked, and 
quickly succumbed. He did not report his illness at once, 
thinking he was suffering from fatigue and exhaustion and 
that rest would restore him. but alas, it was too late when he 
did call for aid. My dear friend and neighbor, the wife of 
the chief surgeon, was at this time verj- ill. She thought she 
was hopelessly ill and asked to see me to say good-bye. I 
went to her room and said as many cheerful, hopeful things 
as I could, then I came away. On my return I found the 
commanding officer standing at my door. He was appar- 
ently glad to see me, and said, "There is a small boat just off 



1 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 23 

our landing waiting for an answer from you. Dr. Sternberg 
has communicated with a cousin of his, asking him to come 
and take you and your maid with him." 

The commanding officer seemed very anxious to have me 
go, and I repHed that I could not think of going. I felt it my 
duty to myself to stay where I could hear from my husband. 
The boat came and went every day at the quarantine station 
and I would at least receive a letter. To all of which the 
commanding officer finally answered, "You really must go"; 
and then he told me that Dr. Sternberg had requested that 
the garrison be sent from the infected island to a clean new 
place, David's Island, N. Y. H. My appeal that we were quaran- 
tined by New York and would be subject to arrest brought 
forth only this comment: "We thought of all of that; my 
barge will take you and your maid over to New York at 11 
o'clock tonight ; your cousin will meet you at the Battery 
with a carriage; you will get immediately into the carriage 
and proceed to get out of New York state as quickly as pos- 
sible." With his promise that he would look after our house, 
I consented to go. I left silver, china, everything, just as it 
was when we were at home. A medical officer, a friend of 
ours, arrived before I left, and took our house and quarters. 
He had scarcely become settled when he was seized by the 
terrible disease from which he never fully recovered. Two 
prisoners (with ball and chain) were detailed to take care 
of him, the house, and the garden. I am happy to state that 
one of the men proved a capable caretaker and good nurse, so 
much so that he was rewarded with a remission of his 
sentence for faithful and considerate service during the 
epidemic. 

We were met by Dr. Sternberg's cousin, a prominent citi- 
zen and prosperous merchant of Newark, N. J., at the 
appointed hour and place and arrived late at night at his 
home. In order that our cousin should not get into trouble 
with the health authorities of his city and as a proper pre- 
cautionary measure my maid and I kept to our rooms for 
quite a while. When I felt the maid was in no danger from 
the disease or of conveying the infection to others, she was 
sent to her home, and I grew bolder and mingled with the 



24 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

family like any other guest. After weeks of hard, anxious 
service at the quarantine, I again saw my husband ; while in 
New York on business he made a flying visit to see me. He 
showed plainly by loss of flesh and color how great had been 
his care and anxiety. I said at once, "I cannot let you go 
back alone," to which he replied, "I cannot take you with 
me." But by much pleading I finally gained my point ; we 
went to Staten Island, met the boat from the quarantine sta- 
tion and were soon across the bay and approaching the 
island. 

As we drew near the wharf, I could see convalescent sol- 
diers, who showed in every way evidences of suffering from 
a serious illness, while on one side of the wharf was a large 
stack of new coffins. The quarantine officer met us cheer- 
fully and seemed really glad to see me, remarking that it had 
been very lonely for my husband. (Thinking again over 
these situations, I cannot help feeling that my husband was 
at that time as much of a hero as any general commanding 
a campaign. A general in battle fights his foe in the open; 
a medical man has to fight the invisible foe of infectious dis- 
ease, lurking in the darkness, always in hidden and unex- 
pected places.) The wife of the officer at the quarantine sta- 
tion was a gentle little lady who welcomed me cordially, and 
did everything to make my stay on the island pleasant. My 
husband spent a great deal of his time with his patients, with 
his microscope and in writing up his bedside notes. I learned 
much from asking questions when we were walking or silting 
in our room, for Dr. Sternberg was always ready and willing 
to converse with me on subjects that interested him and he 
was pleased to have me take an interest in his professional 
work. After the first frost, in October, we returned to our 
home at Governor's Island and found ever}'thing as we had 
left it. We had lost only our mattresses, bedding, rugs and 
some other things, for it was then the custom to disinfect 
with "fire and brimstone." The autumn season of the year 
is always sad for me. but it seemed doubly so that particular 
year on account of the many vacancies and changes in the 
personnel of the garrison. We spent a very quiet winter at 
Governor's Island and really welcomed an order which took 
us to Fort Hamilton, N. Y. H. 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 2S 



FORT HAMILTON 



Fort Hamilton guards the entrance to New York Bay at the 
Narrows, and is directly across the channel from Fort Wads- 
worth on the Staten Island side. It has no artificial defenses 
on the land side, but on the side facing the Narrows are elab- 
orate earthworks covering the emplacements for the guns, 
which are of 6, 8, 10 and 12 inch caliber, and their magazines. 

On the whole, it was a delightful post with the First Artil- 
lery for the garrison. The quarters were comfortable and we 
were situated near the hospital. The officers' quarters were 
widely separated ; some in the old casemates, others outside 
on the driveway and elsewhere. We enjoyed the two months 
we spent at Fort Hamilton and warm friendships were formed 
which lasted for long years. 

FORT WARREN 

The time seemed short before an order carried us to Fort 
Warren in Boston Harbor, nine miles down the bay. When 
we arrived there, June 30, 1871, we were given a warm wel- 
come by the officers of the Fifth Artillery and their wives. 
The officers' quarters were in the casemates, of historic inter- 
est, for it was here that Confederate officers of high rank were 
quartered as prisoners during our Civil War. The surgeon's 
quarters were in the quadrangle, close by the hospital and near 
the quarters of the commanding officer. The hospital was a 
very good one of its kind, but since it was also in the case- 
mates it had very little sunlight. 

Every medical officer stationed at these forts has reported 
against occupation of the casemates as quarters. They are 
damp and cold, and would cause much sickness, if fires were 
not constantly kept in them. Arms rust in their leather when 
there are no fires, moisture bedews the interior of the walls 
and trickles to the floor, well accounted for in the explanation 
of General Warren in 1874. 

The casemates are arched with bricks, the arches covered 
with sheet lead, and the valleys between them filled with earth. 
A thin layer of concrete with a brick pavement over all com- 
pletes the roofing. The weight of the covering above the lead 
presses the hard parts through the sheet metal, and thus per- 
mits water to reach the arches and soak from the valleys into 
the interior of the casemates. Moreover in winter the case- 



26 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

mates become chilled throughout, and retain a low temperature 
far into the summer, as has been shown by the presence of 
ice in the valleys when uncovered for repairs. 

Dr. Sternberg spent the morning hours doing professional 
work at the hospital. Later on in the day he did professional 
reading or reading on such subjects as heredity and the influ- 
ence of environment. This post was at the time in charge of 
the Engineer Corps of the Army for repairs and improve- 
ments. There was only one company of troops at the post to 
do military duty, and two ladies beside myself in the garrison. 
The bachelor officers were very kind and courteous and often 
we had invitations to the officers' mess to dine and enjoy music 
in the evening. One of the officers played a good accompani- 
ment on the piano, Dr. Steml>erg played the flute well, and I 
played a Spanish guitar, which had been given me by my 
mother. With the coming of the spring, one of our pastimes 
was to take our books and sit on the parapet, watching the 
ocean steamers go and come. Then for relaxation there was 
always fishing; we caught fish from the wharf or from the 
rocks near the beach. 

In partnership with one of the officers we purchased a small 
sail boat. My husband as a boy spent many years near the 
Susquehanna River in New York state and he knew how to 
handle a boat and manage a sail. We sailed often over to 
Nantasket and the other seaside resorts, while the trip to 
Boston was usually made on the boat used for the purpose 
by the Engineer officers in charge of the work on the fortifica- 
tions. This boat made but one trip a week and, in order to 
be independent, we purchased, with another officer, an interest 
in a larger boat. In this boat we sailed or rowed over to Hull 
just across the channel, where we took one of the large excur- 
sion boats making regular trips to and from Boston to the sea- 
side cities. 

NEW ORLEANS 

July 22. 1872, an order came for Dr. Sternberg to proceed 
to New Orleans, to relieve an older surgeon who wished to go 
north to attend to some business and to spend the summer. 
Upon our arrival in New Orleans, we were met with the infor- 
mation that there was yellow fever in the city. General Emor>' 
was in command of the Department and he advised us to 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 27 

arrange for board with a lady who had taken good care of 
him. This we did and I remained at home and roamed in the 
garden, read some interesting books, and took exercise in fan- 
ning myself instead of walking outside of the premises, until 
we knew what parts of the city were infected and to be 
avoided. 

Dr. Sternberg was a busy man, he found much to do in the 
office of the medical director and in his quest for knowledge 
of yellow fever. 

The evenings we spent at home ; sometimes we sat on the 
veranda, at others, we read aloud and discussed our reading. 
But the mosquitoes were very bad and annoyed the doctor so 
much that one evening he lost interest in the reading, and he 
felt he could not do anything that would be more appreciated 
than to kill mosquitoes. He was quick in his movements and 
soon had a goodly number lying on the marble top of the 
bureau — to count them when the sport of killing should be 
over. In a few moments we saw something moving near the 
dead mosquitoes — we watched carefully the movements of a 
train of ants. They had come in great numbers and hastily 
formed two lines, one going and the other returning and 
soon carried away the dead mosquitoes, all except the wings. 
They evidently had ability to communicate and command for 
they had in the quickest and most efficient manner carried 
away all remains of the mosquitoes. We had witnessed a 
demonstration of intelligence in the ant, that led us to want to 
know more, a desire which we soon gratified by reading 
Lubbock. 



CHAPTER FOUR 
FORT BARRANCAS 

September 2, 1872, we arrived at Fort Barrancas, where Dr. 
Sternberg served as post surgeon for the next three years. The 
post is 9 miles from Pensacola down the beautiful bay. We 
found the Fifth Artillery under orders to proceed north, and 
the troops were busily engaged in packing and preparing for the 
move. The First Artillery was to relieve them and was 
anticipated at any time. We hastened to get settled in our 
new home, for we had friends coming, and at that period in 
our history army courtesy and kindness were proverbial. 

Barrancas was not an attractive post. The officers' quarters 
were new frame buildings, neither well planned nor well built. 
We chose a set of quarters near the hospital ; the house was 
surrounded by a wide porch which added to our comfort dur- 
ing the summer season. From the front we had an extensive 
view of the beautiful bay. At times the limpid water came 
and went in ripples over the clear white sand on the beach 
and the sky above was as blue and cloudless as an Italian sky — 
a view both restful and refreshing. The bar at the entrance 
was always lively with breakers foaming over the reef, and 
the distant Gulf was grand in its great expanse. Immediately 
across the bay from Barrancas was old Fort Pickens with an 
ordnance sergeant as the sole keeper of a once important 
fortified position. To the left of the entrance to the harbor 
stood the picturesque remains of the old fortification known 
as Fort McRea. We went often by boat to fish near this ruin 
or just back of it in the lagoon. Returning up the coast we 
passed a fort known as the old Spanish Fort, a most interest- 
ing place with many features considered important at the time 
it was built, now perfectly out of date and of no use what- 
ever. This fort was not far from the hospital and its gray 
walls and green slopes looked picturesque and inviting from 
the bay. 

The hospital was a wooden structure situated at a consider- 
able distance from the company barracks. It was on the brow 
of a bluff some 30 feet high overlooking the bay. There were 
no trees nor shrubs to shade it, but the green slopes of the 
old fort afforded a little relief for the eyes of the patients. 



FORT BARRANCAS 29 

We were more fortunate than most of the residents of the 
garrison, as in the grounds surrounding our quarters there 
were a number of trees, one large magnolia, one Pride of 
India, and several chime ball trees. After we were settled in 
our new home, our first and greatest desire was for the relaxa- 
tion and pleasure of planning and cultivating our garden. We 
had no grass, nothing but sand on which to step after we left 
the board walk. This board walk led to every house in the 
garrison and had been constructed to keep the children and 
dogs from the *'burr grass." We soon learned that a kind of 
blue grass could be cultivated if one could procure soil and 
give it care. My husband therefore contracted with the cap- 
tain of a little schooner that came from up the bay to a neigh- 
boring village to bring us some soil. We cultivated not only 
grass but all kinds of blooming plants and very small fruits, 
which lent an interest to a life that might well have been 
uninteresting and tedious. 

About one mile distant from Fort Barrancas was a little 
village populated principally by married clerks and employees 
cf the Navy Yard, day laborers, pilots, fishermen, laundresses, 
shop-keepers and others. This was known as Warrington. 
Another village just beyond the Navy Yard and comprising 
the same class of citizens was known as Woolsey. The Navy 
Yard was once a manufacturing yard of some importance, but 
a great part of it was destroyed during our Civil War. How- 
ever there were considerable life and activity there during 
the three years we spent at Barrancas. Warships came in for 
supplies and slight repairs and the ironclads were towed down 
there to go out of commission and to be wholly retired. It 
was quite an event when they came in, each in tow of an 
active warship. There were dinner parties on ship and on 
shore and large evening parties at Pensacola and Barrancas. 

In the early autumn. Dr. Sternberg received an order to 
report for temporary duty in New Orleans. The duty was for 
a short term and I therefore preferred to remain at home. As 
our house was at some distance from the other quarters, my 
husband had exacted a promise from one of the servants that 
she would never leave me alone, particularly at night, and he 
also left a revolver loaded for my protection in case of 
trouble. All went well for several nights, when suddenly, late 
in the night, we were awakened by concerted cackling in the 



30 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

chicken house. I had purchased some fine bred chickens to 
interest me in something, ahhough I knew very Httle about 
poultry raising. By some unknown accident the chickens had 
gotten out of their house and were running for life through 
the grounds. Expecting to see a thief, I was amazed at the 
spectacle which I beheld : a fine fox with a great bushy tail 
amusing himself by catching the hens and allowing them to 
go free after a few moments of torture. My maid said : "Please 
shoot off the pistol, that will frighten the fox away." But that 
would also frighten the officer of the guard, and cause excite- 
ment in the garrison, and someone would come running to see 
if I was in real trouble. The fox kept up his sport until day- 
light and when we went into the yard in the morning there 
were feathers flying in all parts of the grounds and many of 
my beautiful hens had gone to feed the foxes. On the return 
of my husband from New Orleans, he brought me a well bred 
horse named "Robert E. Lee" and a phaeton, which proved a 
source of great delight for both of us. 

As I review the past, I often think that one reason why 
my husband accomplished so much in life was that he always 
had a system in his work. The morning hours he spent at the 
hospital, or perhaps in consultation with the doctors on serious 
cases at the Navy Yard, or in one of the villages. For rest 
and relaxation we took drives to the country in search of 
flowers and of new interests in plant life. Growing abun- 
dantly on the edges of the swamps in Florida, there are two 
interesting varieties of the pitcher plant, and the inconspicuous 
"fly catcher," which kills its victim by a poison and absorbs 
sustenance by clasping between its petals and digesting the 
fly. The whole atmosphere seems filled at times with the per- 
fume of the jessamines and other tropical flowers. These little 
excursions were exceedingly interesting, because we found 
many new varieties of flowers and grasses, and the change 
was a rest for Dr. Sternberg. 

During the hours spent in the open, we did not seriously 
mind the many kinds of insects and reptiles flourishing in 
these parts. We became so accustomed to the sight of the 
moccasin snakes under the board walk, of the little slender 
snake that crept up the lattice work around the porch and even 
up the window shutters, that they engendered little fear. But 



FORT BARRANCAS 31 

the king of all pests, the most persistent and annoying of all, 
was tJie mosquito. We could not be comfortable anywhere in 
the evening without using a large palm leaf fan so briskly that 
the mosquitoes could not approach us. We finally planned 
and constructed on the porch a little shelter, covered with fine 
net (wire for insect screening had not been introduced at that 
time) and here we could be assured of some degree of comfort. 
The problem of getting fresh milk was very hard to solve 
and quite expensive. We had engaged milk from a woman 
living in Warrington. The boy who delivered it was con- 
stantly meeting misfortune and would arrive often with much 
less than I expected. The contractor, who furnished the beef 
to the post inquired if I was getting everything I desired. The 
time seemed propitious to ask him if he knew where I could 
get a good cow. He frankly told me he did not know of any 
I would call good, but he had a native cow with a calf, that he 
would be glad to bring me for no other remuneration than her 
food — adding that she would have to be taught to eat, since 
she knew nothing of cultivated food. This was a rather appal- 
ling prospect, but he volunteered to show the stable man the 
process, and as I had never seen a cow that did not know how 
to eat, I consented. Late in the afternoon of the next day, 
the cow was delivered, and our stable man with the assistance 
and guidance of the contractor, took a wisp of hay and dipped 
it into the com meal or bran, forced it into the mouth of the 
cow, holding her mouth closed for quite a while. She did not 
relish the food, never having tasted anything like it before. 
The process of securing the milk was to her wholly new, and 
at times wildly exciting. It required two men to hold the 
calf, while the other secured what milk he could for us. This 
lasted but a few days, however, for one evening the cow 
became excited and kicked the calf, breaking its leg in her 
frenzy. The contractor when informed of the accident took it 
very philosophically and substituted another cow without calf. 
This cow also did not know how to eat any kind of corn meal, 
bran or hay and she did not wish to learn. Having no calf she 
never came home ; she was very small and went so far into the 
swamp land to browse that the man could not find her at times. 
We learned that she likewise had a temper out of proportion 
to her size. It had been clearly demonstrated that the man 



32 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

could not manage her and we got very little milk. I thus 
acquired considerable information in regard to the small breed 
of cattle then thriving in Florida. They existed on grass and 
green twigs and they furnished the residents of that section 
of our country with fresh beef and perhaps would have yielded 
a sufficient supply of milk if we had considered nature's pro- 
vision for the cows of that latitude. Men had not at that 
date been interested in trying to import any other breed into 
Florida. 

The summer months at Barrancas were not to be dreaded 
on account of the heat. The early mornings and evenings 
were comfortable under cover; the breeze from over the bay 
was always refreshing. The white sand on our extensive 
beach looked cool and clean. We early learned to get our 
exercise in the freshness of the morning hours; after nine 
o'clock we did not go in the sunlight except on business of 
importance. 

YELLOW FEVER AT BARRANCAS 

One morning, late in the summer of 1873, Dr. Sternberg 
returned from "sick call" at the hospital looking troubled and 
anxious, and when I asked him the cause of his anxiety he 
replied "I have a very sick patient about whom I am extremely 
anxious, I am almost sure he has yellow fever." There had 
been no cases that season in Florida, none nearer than New 
Orleans. All the rest of the day, he made frequent visits to 
the hospital. The next morning he expressed a desire to go 
at once to the hospital, but I said, "You must not go without 
a cup of hot coffee," and I ran to the kitchen to hasten the 
serving. On my entering the kitchen, the cook, a soldier's 
wife, said to me "I have been up all night, my children are 
very sick, will you please ask Dr. Sternberg to see my chil- 
dren." I hastily told my husband, who went immediately 
to the hospital. After a short time, he retumed and said to 
me, "Please send the cook home at once to take care of her 
children as they are very ill with yellow fever." The woman 
had not reported the illness of the children, thinking she could 
care for them herself, and there had been no cases of fever 
that season. 

Dr. Sternberg went at once to the adjutant's office to report 
the existence of yellow fever, and knowing from previous 



FORT BARRANCAS 33 

experience the good results obtained by moving troops from 
infected localities, he recommended the immediate removal of 
the garrison across the bay to a camp near old Fort Pickens. 
The order was issued at once and there was ''gathering in hot 
haste." Everyone was soon packing and on the move. We 
had only one steam tug and one sloop for transporting the 
command, but frequent trips were made and the commandant 
at the navy yard sent a larger tug to assist in getting the bag- 
gage and camp equipment over. Before that day had passed 
all were on the other side of the bay, with the exception of 
the commanding officer (who had previously had an attack of 
yellow fever in Mexico), Dr. Sternberg, myself, one company 
officer ill with a light attack of typhoid fever, the hospital 
steward, the nurses at the hospital, and some enlisted men to 
care for the animals at the quartermaster's stables. Dr. 
Sternberg decided it would be advisable for us to take a few 
things and go over to the quarters adjoining the officer con- 
valescing from typhoid fever, in order that we could look 
after his comfort and diet. For several days a few patients 
returned from Fort Pickens to the hospital ; all of these men 
had been previously infected, twelve cases in all. The 
beautiful children of our cook died very quickly, as did also 
the first patient in the hospital. The troops remained at Fort 
Pickens until after a light frost in the autumn. Everything 
that could be of possible service in cleaning and disinfecting 
was ordered done by Dr. Sternberg before the troops were 
allowed to return. My husband exerted every means to trace 
the source of this infection and made everything a matter of 
record. 

I had spent the previous summer months in Florida because 
the breeze was fresh and cool, and the early morning hours 
were delightful. But I had promised to make a visit to my 
parents, and I went north in 1874. During my absence there 
were two cases of yellow fever at Barrancas. The first intima- 
tion of this came in a letter from my husband when he told me 
that he had been to the Navy Yard in consultation and that 
they were having yellow fever there. While at the Navy 
Yard, Dr. Sternberg was asked to inspect the whole command 
as he had recently had experience with yellow fever. In the 
hospital he found a number of pronounced cases, and some of 



34 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

the officers were also sick. Dr. Sternberg visited all the 
patients with the surgeon of the yard, and was emphatic in 
regard to the diagnosis of yellow fever. A vessel had come 
in a short time before from the Isthmus, where the Chagres 
fever was then prevailing. The doctors who had seen Chagres 
fever (a malignant type of malarial fever occurring along the 
Chagres River in South America) were inclined to think it 
was that disease, but Dr. Sternberg's previous experience 
enabled him to feel certain of his point. 

He therefore visited the admiral commanding the Navy 
Yard in company with the other surgeon, and recommended 
that all well people should be taken at once from the infected 
yard to a spot free from the infection. The admiral was a 
charming gentleman of the old school, but could not be con- 
vinced that the situation demanded such drastic measures. 
After a long consultation in which my husband appealed to 
him in every way he could to give the order at once, the 
Admiral finally said, "I can not give such an order, it would 
seem cowardly on my part, it would be equivalent to deserting 
the ship." A little later he became a victim of the disease and 
passed to the Great Beyond. The surgeon and his wife died, 
leaving orphan children ; the paymaster and his wife recovered 
but were a long time convalescing; the captain of the yard and 
his wife died leaving orphans, and many enlisted men died in 
the hospital. My husband, although he was not immune, went 
to the assistance of the suffering and freely gave advice and 
medical attention. 

After the frost had come, he invited me to return. Travel- 
ing in the South at that time was full of disappointment, as 
railroad connections were uncertain, and Dr. Sternberg had to 
make three trips to Pensacola before I arrived. I was 
delighted to be again in our home. The bay was tranquil and 
restful to look on and it seemed hard to believe that it was 
the means of transporting that terrible disease of yellow fever 
to so many innocent victims. "But always it came in a ship" ; 
at least, it was the final conclusion of every board of investi- 
gation that it was traced to passengers from a recently arrived 
ship. Dr. Sternberg's report says: "after a careful considera- 
tion of the facts I have not been able to find any other source 
of infection as satisfactorv to mv mind, and that the disease 



FORT BARRANCAS 35 

did not originate at Barrancas seems almost certain for the 
following reason: Yellow fever has prevailed at Barrancas 
but six times in fifty- four years. Its appearance in every 
instance has been preceded by the arrival in the harbor of a 
vessel from an infected port." Neither Dr. Sternberg nor I 
at that time had ever had yellow fever in spite of the fact that 
we were exposed to two earlier epidemics, and we remained 
at the post the entire time. It was lonely and sad because 
there were so few of us at the post. But professional work 
and writing absorbed my husband's entire time. 

Dr. Sternberg's first publications of scientific value were pre- 
pared about this time, and related to the modus operandi of 
the yellow fever poison ^ and a study of the natural history 
of yellow fever.- These investigations served to eliminate at 
least some of the obscure factors, if not to discover the 
immediate cause of the disease, and gave him a position as 
an authority on yellow fever. 

A PREHISTORIC MOUND 

On my return from the North I found many changes. My 
close friends and associates in the Navy Yard had suffered 
much. Many had died, others had gone north to recuperate. 
The strenuous work and close confinement to his professional 
duties had been trying for Dr. Sternberg. Now that the strain 
was over, I thought to relieve the tension by driving into the 
country. 

While in Warrington one morning, my husband met by 
chance the captain of a little sloop, who was telling a group 
of men some facts relating to an extensive "shell heap," quite 
near his home on the bay. Dr. Sternberg had always been 
interested in anything that would reveal facts relating to pre- 
historic man, and he therefore decided to make a trip to this 
interesting spot. The day fixed on was fine and the sail up 
the bay was delightful. On arriving the party found the shell 
heaps much larger and more extensive than had been expected. 
Their size and extent were considered proof that great num- 
bers of Indians had at some remote period frequented this 
spot to enjoy oysters and seafood. There were evidences that 



1. New Orleans M. & S. J. (N. S.) 3:1-23. 1875. 

2. New Orleans M. &. S. J. (N. S.) 4:638^74, 1877. 



36 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

white people had visited the place before, as shown by sev- 
eral spots where attempts had been made to explore by dig- 
ging. Dr. Sternberg instructed his party to be very careful 
in excavating in order not to break or lose anything left behind 
by the people who had made this wonderful shell heap. Some 
arrow points and some tools made from bone and conch shell 
were taken out. One particular tool made of fine thick conch 
shell created quite an interest. As Dr. Sternberg had seen a 
similar instrument of iron in use by the Indians on the plains 
for rubbing down and softening pelts, he felt convinced that 
this specimen had been designed for the same purpose. None 
of the material was of a very- remote period nor did it differ 
much from things found elsewhere under like surroundings. 

On another drive we leamed from the country people of an 
Indian burial mound, though it was not until later that we 
gained information regarding its exact location. A day hav- 
ing been fixed for the expedition, the commanding officer 
assigned us a large wagon and team with two men. We took 
camp equipage, supplies, cooking outfit, with everything neces- 
sary for comfort and we drove in our light buggy. The road 
led through the pine forests, where the grass and the roots rf 
the pine trees impeded our progress and obliged us to pro- 
ceed quite slowly. We reached our camping place about 4 
o'clock in the afternoon, made friends with the people who 
owned the mound, asked permission to camp and to explore, 
and engaged the owner to assist! This man vraiS very hos- 
pitable and seemed really glad to see us. but we did not meet 
a woman although we could hear the voice of one in the rear 
room of a very old and small house. Our men soon had the 
tents up and the camp in order, and a little cabin nearby accom- 
modated the iron bedsteads and our personal camping outfit. 
After supper we strolled about to inspect the mound which 
was not far from Perdido Bay at a place known as Bear 
Point. There were a number of trees on the mound over- 
towcred by a very large live oak. which men of the locality 
estimated was at least 100 years old. 

In the morning, Dr. Sternberg decided to cut a trench 
through the center of the mound. He sui>erintended the work 
of two of the men while I watched the other. As soon as the 
digging utensil struck anything other than sand, the work 



FORT BARRANCAS 37 

ceased and a careful lifting of the sand by Dr. Sternberg 
would bring to light whatever substance had been struck. We 
soon found fragments of pots, and a little deeper we unearthed 
numerous pots of all sizes and colors ; these were so saturated 
with moisture that it required the greatest care and skill to 
remove them intact. A number of these were placed carefully 
in the wind and sun where they were soon dried and hardened. 
Our main interest centered on a nest of smaller pots. They 
were beautifully made and decorated, closely resembling speci- 
mens exhibited in museums as pottery from Peru. In one we 
found a beautiful blue bead, in another a perforated disk made 
from a shell about the size of a 25-cent piece. We unearthed 
a great number of stone disks of all sizes, suggesting no use- 
ful purpose other than some game, like quoits. One, in par- 
ticular, we studied for some time and have since looked for 
its mate in museums, but without success. This disk, eleven 
inches in circumference, was evidently fashioned of beautiful 
chalcedony. It must have been traded from some Northern 
tribe, as no such stone ever existed in Florida. As it was 
highly polished, Dr. Sternberg thought that it might have been 
used in a national game. Another interesting little disk was 
made of lead, very skillfully inlayed, with a round centerpiece 
of copper. Detached parts of human skeletons were found; 
these were removed with the greatest care and were sent to 
the Army Medical Museum for study and comparison. There 
were innumerable pieces of clay figures, a fox's head, a squir- 
rel's head (the latter had a little bit of clay within, as if it 
might have served as a child's rattle). There was a very good 
representation of a duck's head and bill. We also found quite 
by itself a small reproduction of a woman's head, with a slight 
suggestion of Egyptian, even to the cast of countenance. A 
long and faithful search for some article associated with this 
particular piece, proved unproductive. 

Only two items of the collection helped to fix the date of 
this particular mound. In one of the small pots we found a 
blue bead ; in another a large nail, badly eaten by rust. Dr. 
Sternberg was convinced that the Indians had acquired this 
nail after the Spaniards had discovered our continent, and 
that it probably came from timber of a wrecked vessel. We 
sent a fine collection of the large pots to a state museum, but 



38 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

notwithstanding careful packing, many of them were broken 
in transit. Dr. Sternberg reported his findings before the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science at 
Salem, Mass., in 1879. 

ATTACK OF YELLOW FEVER 

In June, 1875, the ship Von Moltke, from Havana, arrived 
in Pensacola harbor with cases of yellow fever on board. She 
anchored opposite Fort Barrancas over night before going to 
the quarantine station (Pensacola) next morning, and no com- 
munication was permitted with the shore. We had a strict 
quarantine and the captain made affidavit that no one had left 
the ship. The result was perfectly successful as far as Pensa- 
cola and the Navy Yard were concerned. Three weeks later, 
however, yellow fever again made its apjjearance at Fort 
Barrancas, a number of cases occurring almost simultaneously 
in three different localities; in the company barracks, in the 
laundresses' quarters and in the officers' quarters. A severe 
epidemic appeared imminent. Dr. Sternberg had given me 
intimation of his anxiety, and said he would report conditions 
at once to tlic commanding officer and ask to have the troops 
sent to Fort Pickens, across the bay. The order was pven 
and my husband returned home and said to me "My dear, I 
think you will have to go away from the post." I demurred 
on the plea that I had never left him alone and that he would 
need me then more than ever. He replied, "There are several 
reasons why you should go. I want the garrison to feel that 
my entire time is at their disposal, for undoubtedly we arc 
to have an extensive epidemic," 

While we were discussing the matter an order from the 
commanding officer requested Dr. Sternberg to advise in 
regard to a young lady who was visiting the officer's wife and 
would be quarantined. She was a Southern girl who had 
never been ex|)osed to yellow fever, and was badly frightened. 
The commanding officer suggested that I take the young lady 
with me. My husband came home and said I must decide at 
once to go from the post. "You cannot go north, and I am not 
willing you should go far from me. \l you are taken ill I 
will come to you ; you are exjx^cted to take this young lady 
with you." Everything was quickly arranged; a government 
wagon was given us and a captain who had suffered from 



FORT BARRANCAS 39 

yellow fever in Mexico was to take charge and get us located. 
I took our man and our pony, and in the wagon were tents, 
camp equipage and a month's supply of provisions. My hus- 
band said in his last farewell, "Don't put any water between 
us." 

After we were well on the road, the officer went into every 
house to ask them to take us in, telling them we were leaving 
home on account of yellow fever. No one wanted us. We 
had gone ten miles and night was coming on, when a woman 
finally consented to take us in. "Come in," she said, "I have 
daughters of my own and I cannot send you away. We are 
poor at present; we have nothing to offer except the roof to 
shelter you." I thanked her cordially and told her we had 
supplies to subsist on for quite a while and I begged her to 
take charge of everything that we had brought with us. In 
less than twenty-four hours these people were quarantined by 
a guard from Pensacola, a small city twenty-five miles away. 
These men with guns paraded around the place and would not 
allow either the owner or his sons to go to town for supplies. 

Before leaving Barrancas an arrangement was made for me 
to hear from home and when our stopping place was known 
a box was placed on a tree about half the distance from the 
fort. On the first two days my servant brought a letter from 
my husband. On the third day a guard challenged him; he 
had orders not to let the man from home have any communi- 
cation with others, and on that day I received no letter. In his 
last letter my husband had told me that no professional help 
had yet reached him, and he was almost exhausted from the 
demands made on him. He said, "Don't worry if you do 
not get a letter in a day or two." This was reasonable, and I 
counted the hours until I would hear again. The fourth 
day my orderly brought a letter addressed in another's 
handwriting. 

I knew intuitively that my husband was ill. The letter was 
from the commanding officer, and it confirmed my forebodings. 
The Surgeon-General had telegraphed from Washington to do 
ever}'thing that money and friends could to carry Dr. Stern- 
berg through. A surgeon from Pensacola had taken charge of 
him, and two surgeons had arrived from New Orleans to 
attend to the other sick. But the main object in writing was 



40 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

to tell me not to try to come home, as an order had been given 
that no sentry was to let me pass. 

My poor husband was extremely ill from the beginning and 
his overtaxed condition made it a terrible struggle. He suf- 
fered from all the bad symptoms of a horrible disease. I knew 
he should be convalescing in eight days, but I received no 
encouraging news. Finally, I could stand the strain no lon- 
ger. After three weeks of mental torture, I wrote to the com- 
manding officer, "Please tell me the worst, it cannot be worse 
than the agony I am suffering at present. I know he should 
be convalescing, and if you do not tell me all I shall immed- 
iately come home." He wrote me a long letter telling me that 
my husband had almost every possible complication and was 
still suffering great pain from a septic infection ; that he had 
been near death from exhaustion, but they were hopeful : he 
would pull through, I was to stay where I was. 

Meanwhile the domestic life in our refuge home was not 
very satisfactory. The young lady who had joined me was 
anxious to get to Georgia. She confided to me one day that 
she "ran before Sherman in his march through Georgia, but 
her present sftuation was a great deal worse." A country 
quarantine is very annoying, and I was relieved for her sake 
when at the expiration of two weeks she arranged through 
influential friends to get away. My letters from home were 
now becoming more cheerful and the world seemed brighter. 

After a month at this refuge a message came instructing me 
to go without delay to Pensacola. to take the train north the 
following night, that my husband was improving and would 
meet me as soon as he was able to travel. My pain at parting 
with these good people was quite sincere, for the dear little 
mother had comforted me in my troubles even as my own 
mother would have done. The road w^as rough and we could 
not travel fast but with twenty-five miles to make we did the 
best we could. A severe storm forced us to seek shelter in a 
logger's camp, and delayed progress for considerable time. 
After the rain abated, and we were again under way, we met 
a man on horseback. He drew rein and inquired **Is this Mrs. 
Sternberg?" I said, "Oh, please don't tell me any bad news." 
He said, "No. I have come from Mrs. Herron to meet you. 
(Dr. Herron had been taking special care of my husband dur- 



FORT BARRANCAS 41 

ing his entire illness.) Mrs. Herron has seen the Mayor of 
Pensacola and you have permission to stop and take a cup of 
tea with her." My original instructions had been to proceed 
at once to the railroad station. It was quite dark when we 
arrived at the home of Mrs. Herron. The door flew open and 
a little lady whom I had never seen came quickly down the 
steps to meet me. She clasped me in her arms and said "My 
darling child, the news today is good from your husband and 
my son tells me he will recover and meet you in the North." 
My husband had sent money to Mrs. Herron and she had 
made all the arrangements for my comfort on the trip. The 
one thought that would not be banished was that I was leav- 
ing my dear one still fighting bravely and desperately for life, 
and I hoped and prayed he would be victorious. 

My trip was long and lonely and I arrived in due time at 
my father's house worn and weary. Scarcely had I rested 
from my great strain, when I received a telegram from my 
husband to meet him in St. Louis at a fixed date. August 16, 
1875, the surgeon at Barrancas had sent him in charge of a 
nurse to New Orleans and thence up the river to St. Louis. 



CHAPTER FIVE 
IN EUROPE 

When we met in St. Louis my husband had so changed that 
I would not have known him had we met without appointment. 
He weighed less than 100 pounds and was badly discolored 
and disfigured. His suffering had been very great and 
I afterward learned that his life had been despaired of at 
many stages of his illness. After a rest of several weeks we 
went to Washington, where Dr. Sternberg reported to General 
Crane, Surgeon-General of the U. S. Army. General Crane 
was most cordial in his greeting, congratulating Dr. Sternberg 
on his recovery. "But," he said "you are in no condition to go 
on duty; take a leave of absence and go to Europe." This 
being agreeable to us. General Crane suggested we could go 
immediately to Southern France where the climate would be 
mild, and my husband could there recuperate more rapidly. 
Dr. Sternberg was granted a leave of absence for six months, 
November 9, 1875, and we went to New York a few days later 
to make our arrangements for sailing. We had no difficulty in 
securing a very comfortable stateroom on the S.S. City of 
Chester, Inman Line. 

The trip over was pleasant in every way ; there was no rough 
weather and we had ver\' agreeable fellow passengers. On 
landing we went immediately to London, where we put up at 
a quiet little hotel near the Strand. Our time was spent in 
strolls on the Strand, admiring the shop windows, and in tak- 
ing short drives. After a sufficient time spent in the city to 
enable us to forget entirely our recent sea voyage we pro- 
ceeded to the Continent. A stormy crossing of the Channel 
made it advisable to take a rest in Paris, where a short sojourn 
so restored us that we were able to resume our original pro- 
gram to go to Nice. 

In Nice we were fortunate in the selection of our hotel, the 
Hotel des Anglais on the Promenade des Anglais, near the 
center of social activity. On the morning following our 
arrival, we were delightfully surprised by a visit from a very 
dear friend. She was the wife of an officer of our Na\-}' who 
had served at the Pensacola Navy Yard, where Dr. Sternberg 
had known the family quite intimately, and she now proposed 



IN EUROPE 43 

that we visit them at a large villa which they had taken. We 
appreciatively demurred on the ground that Dr. Sternberg 
would be more or less of an invalid for some time. "That is 
one more reason you should come to us," and she recalled to 
our memory that Dr. Sternberg had been very kind to them 
in severe illness. Her mother was with her and she would be 
delighted to see both of us. Someone called and nothing more 
was said. On returning the visit several days later, we were 
charmed with the atmosphere of their home. We found the 
villa delightful and my friend said, "If you can not make up 
your minds to come and visit us, come and mess with us. It 
will give us all much pleasure to be again together." This 
proposition was gladly accepted and the arrangement proved 
ideal. I accompanied my hostess to social functions, and Dr. 
Sternberg had charming surroundings, good care and agree- 
able company. 

In the early hours of the afternoon, my husband and I often 
walked or drove on the Promenade des Anglais, where was to 
be seen a fine moving panorama. The great expanse of beauti- 
ful water on one side of the drive added a distinctive charm to 
the picture. One could meet visitors from all nations, some 
driving or riding, others walking. We were early cautioned 
to be at home by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, as the air then 
reminds one that the snow of the Alps is not far away. Later 
during our stay, when Dr. Sternberg's health improved, we 
drove to many interesting places in the immediate vicinity, 
even going with others to Monte Carlo to attend a concert in 
the great music hall. 

On Christmas Eve at Nice, Dr. Sternberg received notice 
that he had been promoted to the grade of Surgeon with the 
rank of Major. While this was cheering news it awoke anew 
the recollection of an act of injustice to three medical officers 
who should have received this promotion as early as February, 
1869. The history of this is best told by extracts from a 
report of the Committee on Military Affairs, dated February 
8, 1875, to whom was referred the petition of Charles B. 
White, George M. Sternberg and Joseph Janvier Woodward, 
Assistant Surgeons, U. S. Army, asking redress for griev- 
ances. The committee on the bill (H.R. 3858) to authorize 
the promotion reported: 



44 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

That on inquiry at the War Department they find the facts 
with regard to the record of these officers to be substantially 
as stated in their petition. It appears that three vacancies in 
the grade of Surgeon in the Medical Department of the Army 
originated on the 22nd of February, 1869; that these officers, 
all of whom are of unblemished record, were at the time 
entitled to be promoted to these vacancies under the laws and 
regulations then in existence, and that they actually were on 
the same day, viz., February 22, 1869, nominated by the Presi- 
dent to the Senate for said promotion. — The Senate however 
failed to take immediate action on the nominations, and while 
they were pending the Army Appropriation Bill approved 
March 3, 1869, became a law, the sixth section of which pro- 
hibited further appointments and promotions in the several 
staff-corps, among them the Medical Corps, until further 
legislation. 

This Bill appears to have been construed as forbidding the 
promotion of these officers although they had been nominated 
prior to its passage, for no further action was taken in their 
case at that time. 

Two years later, and near the close of a session of Congress, 
viz., February 14, 1871, the President again nominated these 
officers for the same promotion, and the session having expired 
without any action being taken upon the nomination, he for 
the third time submitted them to the Senate (in extra session) 
March 6, 1871. It appears from a note appended by the Presi- 
dent to these nominations of February 14 and March 6, 
1871, which note is a matter of record in the War Depart- 
ment, and an official copy of which is herewith annexed 
(marked "C") that the President in nominating these officers 
for promotion the second and third time, took the ground 
that, as they had become entitled thereto prior to the act of 
March 3, 1869, prohibiting further appointments and promo- 
tions in the staff corps, that act ought not to bar their promo- 
tion and he says ; "I deem it an act of justice to the officers 
that these promotions should be made from the dates they 
became entitlctl thereto." — The Senate nevertheless took, it 
appears, no action on the nominations. ... In view of 
all the foregoing facts we recommend the passage of the bill 
(H.R. 3858) to authorize the promotion of these officers. 

Notwithstanding this favorable report the bill failed to pass 
and Dr. Sternberg, with his two colleagues, was deprived of 
the promotion to which he was justly entitled from February 
22, 1869, to December 1, 1875. He lost the difference of pay 
between the grade of Captain and of Major; not a very pleas- 



IN EUROPE 45 

ant contemplation for a man who was just recovering from 
an attack of yellow fever contracted in line of duty. 

Dr. Sternberg grew anxious to go to Italy and as he was not 
yet very strong we decided to travel slowly. Our first stop 
was to be Genoa, which at that date was the chief commercial 
city in Italy. The railroads from Nice skirt the coast and the 
numerous promontories are penetrated by tunnels, some of 
them so long that they must have been serious problems for 
the engineers. We remained in Genoa only long enough for 
Dr. Sternberg to recover from the fatigue of the railroad 
journey, spending our days in drives and in visits to points of 
artistic interest. Our visits to all the large cities in Italy were 
keenly enjoyed although we would have liked more time for 
appreciation of natural beauties. At first we exercised great 
care in regard to the time we should give to visiting picture 
galleries for fear of taxing Dr. Sternberg's strength. But by 
living much in the open and in the sunlight, he gained strength 
daily, and we could safely sj)end many happy hours in the gal- 
leries. With the assistance of experienced friends, we were 
able to enjoy profitably every moment of our stay in Florence, 
Venice, Naples and Rome. We spent more time in the last 
city than in any other, for reasons that are obvious. Our 
return was by way of Paris and London. 

Having turned our faces homeward it is not surprising that 
we became anxious to be again on our native soil. Despite 
pleasant recollections of London we were obliged to hasten to 
Liverpool to take the steamer for New York. We returned 
in the same steamer on which we had made the trip East ; 
she seemed like an old acquaintance when we boarded and 
there were many familiar faces. Our return passage was 
stormy and exciting. After we had weathered the storm and 
all were feeling almost cheerful again, the engines suddenly 
stopped. The steamer rolled terribly, as will any vessel in a 
heavy sea without steam power to resist. The waves broke 
upon our deck and washed over with a distressing noise, while 
passengers grew pale, nervous and ill. Everybody was curi- 
ous and anxious, but no one seemed to know the cause of the 
hammering and pounding and delay. When finally the ship 
was struggling again to be under way, we were rejoiced and 
our spirits quickly revived. 



CHAPTER SIX 

IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COLUMBIA 

Relatives met us in New York on our arrival the latter part 
of April, 1876, and as soon as our baggage was procured we 
were on our way to Washington. My husband reported for 
duty to General Crane, and was given a choice of station in 
the Department of the Dakotas or the Department of Colum- 
bia. We talked the matter over and decided we preferred the 
latter. The order came May 1, 1876 for Dr. Sternberg to 
report for duty at Headquarters of the Department of 
Columbia, Portland, Oregon. 

Crossing the continent by rail at that time was not exactly 
3 great pleasure trip. We were eight days and nights on the 
road, the alkaline dust in the arid region penetrated every 
crevice until the atmosphere in the car was at times almost 
stifling. There were no dining cars, the train stopped at inter- 
vals at public dining rooms close by the station. The food 
was greasy, coarse, and badly cooked. The only pleasant 
memory of this trip is the sight of a large herd of buffalo, of 
which at that period herds of considerable size roamed the 
plains, in quest of better grazing lands in the north. Our 
route was by way of San Francisco, where we took ship for 
Oregon. The San Francisco we saw at that time has been 
replaced more than once since; the old frame houses and the 
wooden pavements have several times given place to more 
permanent and yet more substantial improvements. 

As we steamed out of the great harbor of San Francisco, we 
were deeply impressed with the natural charms of the Bay. 
There are three beautiful islands, on each of which our Gov- 
ernment had established military defenses and institutions of 
national importance. The wide expanse of water, the majesty 
of distant mountains, and the soft haze of floating clouds 
upon a background of green and golden hills of the distant 
landscape form an inspiring picture. The ship was old. the 
sea was rough and many of the passengers were soon suffer- 
ing from the motion of the waves. We plunged along, our 
thoughts concentrated on the greatest interest to all on board, 
that of reaching the mouth of the Columbia River. The recital 



DEPARTMENT OF COLUMBIA 47 

of the grandeur and beauty of that stream had been glowingly- 
painted by some of our fellow passengers, and we approached 
the mouth of this river on the morning of the fifth day. 

Before improvements were made by the government there 
were three channels across the Columbia bar, varying from 
nineteen to twenty-one feet in depth, unstable and uncertain in 
regard to position. The passengers who knew the bar related 
the history of the ships that had been lost and pointed out the 
very spots to make their recital more realistic. Theodore Win- 
throp's description of the bar is a vivid representation of what 
we found : a wall of terrible breakers marking the mouth of the 
Columbia — Achilles of rivers. When the word was finally 
passed along that the ship was over the bar, we took interest 
in the river and the adjoining scenery. The first landing was 
at Astoria, 110 miles from Portland, where the Astors had 
established a large fur trading store. In 1876, the year of 
our arrival, the great industry of this section was fishing and 
canning of salmon. Gazing across the Bay from enterprising 
Astoria, we had a view of an Army station known as Fort 
Canby ; Cape Disappointment and Fort Stevens, places of 
military importance, are also nearby. Further up the river, 
there are magnificent scenes, such as perpendicular basaltic 
bluffs, side hill farms and fishing scenes. Suddenly, Mount St. 
Helen's appears — the "Queen of the Cascades," her summit 
draped with a robe of pure white snow. On a clear day with 
favorable atmospheric conditions one may enjoy a wonderful 
sight from the junction of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, 
quite near Portland. In the distance, four snow capped peaks 
are seen. Mount St. Helen's, Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood 
and Mount Rainier. 

PORTLAND, OREGON 

We early learned that Dr. Sternberg was to act as medical 
director of the Department of the Columbia during the absence 
of the incumbent, and this duty kept us in Portland from June 
9, to September 1, 1876. Through the advice of friends we 
arranged for lodgings with a charming hostess and we enjoyed 
life in her home as if in our own. The residence was situated 
on quite an elevation and my windows looked on a magnificent 
view. Immediately in front of us, no great distance away, 
Mount Hood towered high, 11,225 feet above sea level. Shortly 



48 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

after our arrival in Portland there occurred an alarming flood, 
which covered to an uncomfortable depth all the city situated 
on the lower level. This was phenomenal and the result of an 
abnormal amount of water from the melting snow. The splen- 
dor of the rose gardens in Portland cannot be exaggerated ; 
nowhere have I seen more luxuriant and gorgeous blooms. The 
beauty of young women finds here an appropriate setting and 
I can add my testimony to that of others that nowhere in 
America does one see complexions to rival those of the girls in 
and about Portland. The equable damp climate, no doubt, 
leaves its mark in beautiful color on the rose and on the cheeks 
of the young women. 

FORT WALLA WALLA 

On the return of the medical director, Dr. Sternberg was 
relieved from this duty. His official and professional work had 
proved very interesting for he had been often solicited to serve 
as consulting physician in obscure and serious cases of illness 
by resident physicians. The medical director gave him a choice 
of a new station, naming Fort Vancouver in Oregon, or Fort 
Walla Walla in Washington. He chose the latter, because of 
climatic preference and of prospects for remaining longer with- 
out change. 

Immediately on our arrival at Walla Walla in August, 1876, 
Dr. Sternberg reported for duty and asked to be authorized 
to remain for a time at the hotel. The pretty little town is 
situated in a wide valley in an ideal setting. The early settlers 
had planted rows of French poplars, so frequently seen border- 
ing European country roads. Here, they bordered the irriga- 
tion ditches. When our furniture arrived we took quarters at 
the garrison, secured a Chinese cook and were soon established 
in our new home. The house was heated by large open fire- 
places, which gave comfort and greeted with cheer all who 
entered. 

The post hospital was some disiaiico iroin the house, in a 
wooden building of ample size, but of primitive construction. 
Every morning at 8 o'clock the bugler blew *'sick call" and 
the post surgeon proceeded to the hospital to examine and treat 
the men who had been reported sick. Shortly after our arrival 
we purchased from an officer, who had received orders to 
repair to another station, a blooded bay mare and a light bugg>-. 



DEPARTMENT OF COLUMBIA 49 

These afforded the means for many interesting drives in the 
valley and over the surrounding mountains. We remained 
three years at Walla Walla and each year the great wheat fields 
extended higher and higher up the foot hills. In the early 
morning hours the mountains presented a charming view; a 
soft white cloud of moisture floated like a billowy scarf of tulle 
half way up the hills, which were draped by the dark green 
of pines above and the fields of light green below; over all 
spread a clear blue sky. 

In the course of attending to his consulting practice in the 
town, Dr. Sternberg made the acquaintance of a lady who con- 
tributed much to our intellectual progress and pleasure. Dur- 
ing professional visits to her son, Dr. Sternberg noted that she 
had an excellent library, and that she was a woman of educa- 
tion. It developed later that she had been educated as a 
teacher in France (her native land), and was at that time 
teaching her own children Greek, Latin, German and French. 
Later Dr. Sternberg suggested it would help to pass my time 
profitably and pleasantly if I should have lessons in French 
from her. At my request. Dr. Sternberg consented to join me 
in the lessons and we found the lady an ideal teacher. She 
never wearied in training us to master the nasal accent, and in 
the three years of our studies covered a wide range of French 
literature. Dr. Sternberg mastered every difficulty of the lan- 
guage, and could later deliver lectures in French. When in 
Europe, he was complimented on his excellent accent. 

FOSSIL REMAINS 

Intercourse with civilians in the town led to friendship with 
a civil engineer who possessed a liberal education and a fond- 
neess for scientific discussion. Dr. Sternberg spoke to him of 
the wonderful fossils he had discovered in the chalk beds in 
Western Kansas during his year in the field with General 
Sheridan after the Cheyennes. This caused the civil engineer 
to produce some interesting specimens and to give details in 
regard to a section of the Northwest which he had surveyed. 
Dr. Sternberg became much interested and most anxious to 
explore this field. 

The commanding officer interposed no objection to his going 
with the next lot of recruits to Fort Colville. Arrangements 



50 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

were made with a physician in the town to attend to the post 
duties, the quartermaster loaned us tents, a wagon, horses, 
men, in fact everything was done to make us comfortable on 
the trip. The first day's march was not long, and proved a 
glorious experience. We camped near a little brook. Fires 
were soon lighted and supper under way, some of the men 
pitched tents, ours a large one with iron beds and two chairs. 
After supper, some fished for trout in the little stream, while 
we went for a short walk and to watch the afterglow of a 
beautiful sunset. 

Very early in the morning the bugle aroused us and we were 
soon on the way, ending our march by three in the afternoon. 
All looked forward to the night we were to camp on the banks 
of the Snake River, one of the important tributaries of the 
Columbia River. No sooner had we begun to make our camp 
here than a white man and two boys came to learn where we 
were going. The man proved to be the owner of the ferry, he 
remained but a short time and volunteered to assist us in any 
way he could. The boys came again and brought me some 
arrow heads, with a message from their mother, who would be 
pleased to come and see me if I desired. I walked home with 
the boys to invite her to visit me at the camp. Their home, 
a little wooden house, was situated high on the banks of the 
river, for this river at times has a tremendous overflow and 
is always a deep swift stream. There was an air of peace and 
happiness about the house, with flower boxes on the porch, and 
other evidences of a woman's hand and influence. She was 
from New England and had been living in this lonely spot for a 
number of years, with infrequent opportunity of seeing a white 
lady. When the boys told her there was a little blonde lady in 
the camp, she thought this woman might possibly be from the 
East and she wanted to meet me. 

Soon after our arrival we were made aware of the presence 
of a band of Indians on the opposite bluff of the river: the 
beating of the "tomtoms" made a great and almost constant 
noise to which the shouting of the men added a touch of savage 
ceremony. Wc could distinguish numbers of them from time 
to time plunging into the river and swimming about. As soon 
as our tents were up and our lighted fires were sending up a 
smoke, boats put out for our shore. They pulled so swiftly 



DEPARTMEXT OF COLUMBIA 51 

that the boats literally shot through the water, and soon landed 
near our camp. Majestically the chief and his interpreter came 
up to the bank of the river to interview the "Medicine Man." 
(They had learned through the soldiers that Dr. Sternberg was 
in charge of our expedition and that he was a physician.) The 
chief did not seem pleased to see us and questioned closely 
through his interpreter in regard to the number of recruits and 
where they were going, also what our own destination was. He 
talked for a long time ; finally he told us he had a sick daughter 
that had been coughing for ''two snows,'' and asked for medi- 
cine to relieve her. Dr. Sternberg knew from past experience 
that tuberculosis is the greatest foe of the modern Indian. 
Having medicine with us, he prepared a cough mixture and 
gave it to the chief. Then the chief informed us he had no 
coffee, this was given him ; no sugar, again his want was sup- 
plied. When all his requests had been complied with, he sat 
silent for some time before taking his departure. Quite early 
the following morning we broke camp, parting company with 
the large number of soldiers who were going north from this 
river crossing; four or five enlisted men remained with us. 

The ferry was known as a "current ferry." The big boat 
was taken over by cables and the whole movement was con- 
trolled by the current of the river. The Snake River is very 
deep and swift, and I noticed that the men were more or less 
excited over making a successful crossing. But all went well. 
We landed and drove slowly up a steep roadway leading to the 
level, and turned the horses' heads down the "Coulee" on our 
way to Washtuckna Lake, the fossil field. We were to camp 
for the night on the banks of a large lake, and to proceed to the 
fossil regions early the next morning. This lake proved an 
extensive sheet of water, and we could see wild geese and ducks 
flying in great numbers over our heads. As soon as the tents 
were pitched, the fires built, and the mules and horses picketed, 
the sportsmen were off for the lake. From patches of bushes 
which were used as blinds, shots reverberated every few 
minutes ; from their number I felt sure we would never be able 
to take the game home with us. Only approaching darkness 
brought the party back ; they had captured no ducks or geese, 
because they had not been instructed how to fire, and had fired 



52 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

into the breast of the bird instead of waiting until the bird was 
flying away. 

While the soldiers were sitting by the camp fire later in the 
evening, a lone horseman rode up and asked to be permitted to 
camp near. He told the men the northern Indians were roam- 
ing in small bands everywhere, and some of them were very 
ugly and insulting, and as he was a lone herdsman with a lot 
of cattle he feared to be on the hills alone at night. Sentries 
were ordered to keep a very close watch over the mules and 
horses that night for fear that they might be stampeded by the 
Indians, and we be left at their mercy without transportation. 
All night the coyotes howled and barked constantly just out- 
side the tent. It was not necessary to call anyone in the morn- 
ing for none of us had slept ver>' much. After a hot break- 
fast we were soon off for the fossil field, some 11 miles distant 
over hills, and arrived about noon on the brink of the lake 
basin. As it was not very safe to be so far from civilization 
when the Indians were excited and roaming about, Dr. Stem- 
berg hastened the exploration in as thorough and satisfactory 
a manner as possible. No explorer had previously been on the 
field, except the civil engineer who had hastily surveyed it. 

We found large numbers of clean specimens, representing 
the horse, the elephant, the camel, the elk and the deer. I had 
the good fortune to find some large teeth, collecting so many 
that my basket would not hold them. What changes in nature 
must have taken place since these animals were natives of this 
zone, doubtless coming to this lake to drink. The wind had 
whipped the sand away and the fossils had dropped lower and 
lower, maintaining the same relative positions occupied in life. 
We carried away with us a great quantity of interesting relics. 
In time Dr. Sternberg sent specimens to Professor Cope of 
Philadelphia and other scientists for description and classifica- 
tion. I still have in our cabinet some of the most beautiful and 
perfect. 

It had been promised that on our return trip we would visit 
the beautiful Shoshone Falls, a little higher up on the Snake 
River. We were near enough at one time to hear the roar of 
the cataract, but Dr. Sternberg thought that the information 
in regard to the Indians made it unsafe to go on a pleasure 
jaunt. 



CHAPTER SEVEN 
THE NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 

There was intense anxiety at that time because of unrest 
among the Indians. Several tribes were roaming over the 
country, the Nez Perces among them. As much will be said 
about these Indians, a few words about their past history may 
not seem amiss. It is related that the pioneers pushing West 
after reaching what is today known as the Kamiah Valley, 
found a large body of Indians; these subsequently became 
known as the Nez Perces. They appeared to be honest, intelli- 
gent and attractive, eager to assist the whites, kind and helpful, 
although shrewd and businesslike in their trading. The pioneers 
left their horses with the Nez Perces and took canoes down the 
river, asking the Indians to meet them at the same point on 
their return the following spring. With scrupulous fidelity the 
Nez Perces carried out their agreement; an evidence of the oft 
repeated assertion that treachery was acquired by the Indian 
from association with the whites. 

From a bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology the 
following is learned of the Nez Perces in 1805. They occupied 
a large area in what is now western Idaho, northeastern Oregon 
and southeastern Washington on the lower Snake River and its 
tributaries. They roamed between the Blue Mountains in Ore- 
gon and the Bitter Root Mountains in Idaho. The Nez Perces 
held the Salmon River country in Idaho in 1834 and probably 
also the Grande Ronde \'alley in eastern Oregon. A large part 
of this territory was ceded to the United States by treaty in 
18^0, at which time they were confined to a reservation includ- 
ing the Wallowa Valley in Idaho. With the discovery of gold 
and the subsequent influx of miners and other settlers, the Ore- 
gon land districts were in demand, and a new treaty was made 
confining the tribe to the reservation at Lapwai, Idaho The 
Indian occupants of the Wallowa Valley refused to recognize 
this treaty, and under their chief, Joseph, took active measures 
of resistance. 

Though at first Joseph's band of Nez Perces opposed the 
treaty, they finally acquiesced in what they understood con- 
tained the stipulation that they should possess the Wallowa 



54 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

country as their permanent home. The Joseph of that time was 
later succeeded by his son whose Indian name was "Halla 
Kalla Keen," or ''Eagle's Wing." Writers of that day say he 
was the finest specimen of Redman ever seen in the Columbia 
Valley. Magnificent in stature and proportions, his rare dig- 
nity and nobility of bearing and qualities of mind and heart 
made him a remarkable chief. Joseph loved the Wallowa Val- 
ley with the afifection of a youth whose associations had been 
connected therewith, and at first made every effort to maintain 
the good will of his white neighbors, but when the Govern- 
ment violated what he regarded its sacred pledge, and permit- 
ted entrance on his lands, he refused to abide by the decision 
and led out his warriers to battle. 

General Howard,^ in his account of the beginning of this war, 
states that the Department of the Interior at Washington issued 
its instructions to carry out the recommendations of the 
November commission to its agent at Lapwai early in Januar}', 
1877. Orders were sent to him to occupy the Wallowa \'alley, 
as had already been done for three years and to cooperate with 
and aid the Indian agent. Learning General Howard was at 
Umatilla, Joseph sent word that he wished to meet him for a 
conference at Walla Walla. The request was granted ; Joseph 
did not come, but sent his brother Ollicut (Young Joseph) to 
represent him. Ollicut put in an appearance at Walla Walla 
about 6 p. m. April 19, 1877 ; with him were several other 
prominent Indians, among them an old medicine man. The 
Indians came into the Fort by the west gate and Ollicut apolo- 
gized for the absence of Joseph because of illness. The next 
day was fixed on for the conference and the Indians sought 
a place to camp for the night. 

The council opened at 10 a. m. in the band practice room. 
The Indians sat on benches on one side of a large table, officers 
and a few ladies on chairs, and some citizens on benches. I 
was greatly impressed with Ollicut. He was over 6 feet tall, 
well formed, with small shapely hands and feet. He brought 
with him a map which he had drawn, a talent for which he was 
reputed ; it was made in color on the fleshy side of a cow skin. 
He spoke in pathetic manner of the white man's injustice, and 



1. I am indebted to General Howard's report for many of the 
details here presented. 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 55 

of the misunderstanding of his tribe, and made an effort to 
explain the impossibihty of giving up the Wallowa Valley for 
the Lapwai reservation. He pointed to his map to show the 
difference in area and fertility of the lands proposed as 
exchange; explaining that his tribe's industry was raising 
horses, that the Lapwai reservation would not be large enough 
to support them in addition to those already there. But he 
could see that he was not convincing his hearers, and some of 
the others not so diplomatic grew loud and boisterous. The 
ladies had to leave the court room and were not permitted to 
be present the next day. 

However, the Indians left Walla Walla with the understand- 
ing that General Howard would meet them in council at a 
later date at Fort Lapwai, Idaho. This council took place at 
the appointed place in May, 1877, Joseph and his brother with 
about fifty of the tribe being present. The sessions were held 
in a large hospital tent. All picturesque features of the paint, 
dress and trappings of the Indians were strictly carried into 
effect. A Catholic priest from the reservation opened the meet- 
ing with prayer. General Howard referred to the council with 
OlHcut at Fort Walla Walla twelve days before and quietly 
stated that he was there to learn what Joseph had to say. 
Joseph said that there was another band of Indians, under 
Chief **White Bird," from the Salmon River Valley and he 
should be there the following day, and he requested that they 
should not hurry away until all were there for the talk. He was 
then told by General Howard that Mr. Monteith (the Indian 
agent) and he had received instructions from Washington. 
"They sent us to your people and should you comply with the 
wishes of the Government you can have the first pick of vacant 
land. We will wait for White Bird if you desire it.' The 
^'dreamer" and the "medicine man" then spoke in petulant and 
querulous manner. The agent read his instructions from 
Washington, which were carefully interpreted, and he added, 
"I sent out Reuben (then the chief of the treaty Nez Perces) 
and some others to your camp, and invited you to come in. 
(This message went to them in the Grande Ronde Valley, or 
Wallowa country, and was not heeded.) Joseph can select the 
place he wants if he will do so at once." Ollicut, a splendid, 
intelligent fellow seemed at times almost persuaded to yield to 



56 GEORGE M, STERNBERG 

the white man's power, then driving himself in seeming regret 
to the opposite extreme, Ollicut spoke. "We must think for 
ourselves, white men and Indians, we have respect for the 
white men but they treat us like dogs and I sometimes think my 
friends are different from what I supposed. There should be 
one law for all. If I commit murder I shall be hanged, but 
if I do well I should not be punished. Our friends will be here 
tomorrow and I will then tell you what I think." Explanations 
were made at length by General Howard and Mr. Monteith, 
the agent. The old dreamer, whom the Indians regarded with 
great respect, became insolent and seemed to exercise a bad 
influence all the time. 

The second Indian council was held at Lapwai, May 4. 
White Bird had marched into the Valley with part of his band. 
The remainder were driving ponies and fetching the lodges 
and provisions across Craig Mountain. After the formal open- 
ing of the meeting Joseph in a brief speech introduced White 
Bird. Joseph had made a careful toilet and rouged slightly, 
while White Bird's face bore an expression of impassa- 
bility. The Indians put forward "Too-hul-hul-Sota," broad- 
shouldered, deep-chested, 5 feet tall, with a voice that betrayed 
in every word his settled hatred of all white men. He spoke 
for some time in seeming understanding of the situation. After 
a long and heated argument he proposed to Joseph and White 
Bird not to meet again until the following Monday. 

It had become apparent that it was necessary- to have more 
troops ; a company from Grande Ronde \'alley and a new com- 
pany from Walla Walla were in this vicinity. The wild Indians 
were well armed, with many breech-loading rifles and pistols, 
while the friendly Nez Perces had nothing but shot guns. The 
non-treaty Indians had the best skirmishers in the world. 
Already there was hovering about Lapwai this well appointed 
force of Indians, and there was a nervous strain on the 
insufficient garrison. 

The next council was a very exciting one. "Too-hul-hul 
Sota" was extremely insulting, eliciting a sharp reprimand 
from General Howard. Turning to the others General Howard 
asked Joseph, White Bird, and Looking Glass, to go with him 
and inspect lands. After another turbulent scene "Too-hul-hul- 
Sota" was expelled from the room and placed under guard, and 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 57 

the other Indians changed their tone. They spoke pleasantly 
and agreed to go with General Howard to examine the Lapwai 
and afterwards the Clearwater country. On the return of this 
party the Indians came together for a final interview, Tuesday, 
May 14. Meanwhile, Captain Trimble's company of the First 
Cavalry had arrived at Lapwai and gone into camp. Special 
news brought the glad tidings that two other companies had 
reached the banks of the Grande Ronde, a fact which created 
much excitement among the Indians. Joseph tried in breath- 
less haste to settle all matters speedily. The white inhabitants 
of Salmon River and Camas Prairie and the vicinity of 
Wallowa, and of the neighborhood of Tush-hush-cute's roam- 
ing places, had from time to time sent the agents complaints 
and earnest entreaties that the Indians be made to go on their 
reservations ; quite a number of their representatives were 
present to urge the action. All came together for this final 
talk ; the Indians' petition to release the old dreamer had been 
granted, and they entered into formal agreement with the agent 
and the Army, to be placed on the Lapwai reservation in one 
month (by June 14). Joseph had at last concluded that he 
would rather go to the Cleanvater with the others, and this 
favor was granted him to relieve some embarrassing situations. 
There was general rejoicing over the peaceful outcome of the 
council. 

On the fifteenth a detachment sent out from Lapwai met two 
excited Indians somewhere near Craig Mountain and turned 
back to Lapwai with them. The name of one was *Tu-tou- 
chloo," while the other was a boy about 14 years of age. The 
officers heard their story through an interpreter, to the effect 
that some three or four Indians had committed a murder near 
Slate Creek where there was a scattered settlement some 40 
miles beyond Mount Idaho. It was in some way connected 
with a citizen named Larry Ott, who had killed an Indian. (I 
have always heard this murder occurred over the killing of a 
hog by the Indian. The bringing in of the hogs by settlers had 
been strongly objected to by the Indians, since the hogs de- 
stroyed the camass root, a small bulb largely used by the 
Indians to make their bread.) The ranking officer took the 
Indians to the reservation and there learned through the official 
interpreter that Larry Ott's story was confirmed by Mr. Whit- 



58 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

man and all now believed that serious trouble was coming. The 
interpreter and the Indian agent thought it wise to send at 
once the acting head chief, Joseph's father-in-law, who still 
insisted that Joseph would not fight, and he volunteered to go. 
The party rode away at full speed. They had not been gone 
long when they came back with another communication from 
Mount Idaho, brought in by the brother of "Looking Glass" 
and a half-breed citizen by the name of West. 

The time of busy preparation had come as before a battle, 
officers and men were mostly silent but in constant motion. 
Arms, ammunition, provisions, means of transportation, in fact, 
everything was being put in readiness, with steady nerves, 
without haste, without confusion. 

We were well jx)sted at Fort Walla Walla in regard to the 
military situation, by the constant arrival of couriers from the 
front. In the course of other business with the office of the 
medical director of the Department, Dr. Sternberg had been 
informed he would not be ordered in the field, but he might 
possibly be ordered to serve at headquarters in Portland to 
relieve a surgeon on duty there who wished to go with the 
troops in the field. Meanwhile we assisted in every way pos- 
sible our friends who were going from the garrison. They left 
by detachments, as the situation grew more and more threaten- 
ing. Wlien our last troops marched away for the front. June 
19, 1877, we drove a little way with them, thinking there would 
be messages to wives and children, or perhaps some personal 
business that remained to be looked after on account of the 
haste with which the men had obeyed the order to march. 

It was nearly 11 a. m. when we returned home, and to our 
surprise we found an order for Dr. Sternberg to take his field 
equipment and proceed without delay to Fort Lapwai. He was 
to join at Wallula on the Columbia River the detachment of 
troops being rushed to the field for action from San Francisco 
and the artillery that had been intercepted en route from 
Alaska. We had but a few moments together after the order 
came ; at 2 p. m. he took the train for Wallula, shipping his fine 
horse and his camp outfit by the same train. 

Among the officers he joined on the river boat at Wallula 
were some he had known before. As he had been in closer 
touch with the war news than thev. much of the time en route 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 59 

to Lewiston was spent in reviewing the military situation. 
Immediately on the arrival at Lewiston they were met by 
officers from Fort Lapwai, and instructions were given to make 
all possible haste, to disembark and get under way to report at 
Fort Lapwai. At this post they were given extra supplies and 
some pack mules, and more explicit orders. In view of the 
information they received in regard to the situation at the front 
it was scarcely necessary to give instructions for haste and 
caution in advancing. They had learned of the terrible tragedy 
at White Bird Canyon, where Colonel Perry's command had 
suffered severe losses, and nothing more was needed to stimu- 
late officers and men to do their utmost and move as fast as 
possible to the assistance of comrades and settlers, badly in 
need of help. 

The men trudged quickly along through a cold rain and the 
officers did what they could to keep up the courage of the rank 
and file. They passed the spots already made known to the 
public by the assaults on the settlers by the non-treaty Indians. 
They marched past the White Bird Canyon where the bodies 
of their dead fellows were lying still unburied. No cheerful 
thought greeted them on their way. They were chilled through, 
hungry and tired, many of them almost exhausted, but they 
pushed doggedly on. At last they reached the designated camp- 
ing place and rendezvous with comrades more than glad to wel- 
come them. Dr. Sternberg, whose personal comfort was looked 
after by Captain Trimble of the First Cavalry, a member of 
Fort Walla Walla garrison, was very much exhausted from 
fatigue and exposure. It was quite dark when they arrived 
and the latter part of the trail had been very rough. The 
mounted officers found in crossing some of the bluffs that it 
was almost impossible to keep in their saddles. The horses 
would lose their footing and it would seem certain they could 
not recover a foothold. Later on these conditions were intensi- 
fied and riding was accompanied with great discomfort, while 
walking was equally tiresome. Particularly was this true in 
the vicinity of the Salmon and Clearwater rivers. Often in quiet 
moments at home Dr. Sternberg would tell of the great fatigue 
and hardships of this campaign, that nothing helped the cour- 
age, and comfort, of every one as did the hot coffee and the 
crisp bacon and bread. 



60 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

BATTLE ON THE CLEARWATER. 

The following description of the battle on the Clearwater, 
July 11, 1877, I have abstracted from General Howard. After 
much skirmishing and taking of important positions to be pro- 
tected beyond the second bluff we found Joseph and his people 
dismounted and already in position on our approach, while 
some thirty or forty mounted Indians had galloped just beyond 
our range to compass our left. Our troops all pushed forward 
in an open line of 2VL' miles in extent. The Indians by their 
rapid movements struck the rear of a small pack train, killed 
two packers and came very near capturing the ammunition. 
The main supply train was saved only by the quick work of a 
messenger guarding it within our lines, and at one moment it 
was feared the Indians would destroy all the food and the 
powder. The enemy manifested extraordinary quickness and 
boldness, planting sharpshooters at all available points, making 
charges on foot and on horseback, but these attempts were all 
resisted successfully. A spirited charge was tried on our right 
down into a ravine. At night the Indians had hastily thrown 
up barricades of stone behind which they fought. A move on 
our part was made on the right, using artillery, infantry, and 
every available man from the cavalry, including horse holders, 
orderlies, and extra men. 

A few Indian sharpshooters managed to annoy every man 
who approached the spring, their only water supply, and in 
spite of a successful charge the situation was still uncomfort- 
able. At this stage of the fighting Dr. Sternberg was called at 
night to go to the fighting line to take care of some wounded. 
He went hastily to the front and found a man who was a 
packer, badly wounded and bleeding profusely. He feared he 
could not remove him any distance without danger of great 
loss of blood. He instructed his assistant to light a candle and 
screen it with a blanket, in order to form a shield behind which 
he could tie the artery. No sooner had the candle been lighted 
than the bullets came thick and fast at this faint little mark, and 
it had to be quickly extinguished. Xo change in the situation, 
no matter how small, escaped the keen-eyed Indians. WTiile at 
work among the fighting men Dr. Sternberg's attention was 
attracted by the calling of many voices sajing "for God's sake 
bring us water to drink." Dr. Sternberg could not for one 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 61 

moment resist the call for water and after placing his wounded 
under shelter he went to the officer's tent and succeeded in 
getting quite a force together to take water from the spring 
to the poor suffering men in the barricade. At one time they 
had to use water through which the mules had been driven in 
taking their position. The squaws were very helpful to the 
Indians by looking after the water supplies, and driving herds 
of ponies through the camp to cause our horses and mules to 
stampede, hoping thereby to leave the command without 
transportation. 

During the first night of the Clearwater Battle, stone barri- 
cades were constructed by ourselves and also by the Indians. 
At daylight, July 12, every available man was on the fighting 
line. The order was given that food should be cooked and 
carried to the front, not an easy task, for the army had not yet 
secured complete possession of the spring, and sufficient water 
had not been procured during the night. The number of Indian 
warriers under Joseph were about equal to ours. All tactics 
that promised success were used by both parties ; some of these 
were very difficult of execution. Even that maneuver known 
as "rolling up the enemy's line" was employed but Joseph made 
a stubborn resistance at his barricades and fought the white 
men with wonderful skill and bravery. 

It is recorded, however, that at this moment in the conflict 
the whole line of Indians suddenly gave way. Immediately, 
pursuit was taken up by the whole force of infantry and artil- 
lery. Winters' troop was dismounted and the remaining 
cavalry followed as soon as they could saddle and mount. The 
Indians were completely routed, flying over rugged banks, 
through ravines, swimming and wading the rivers, with our 
forces in close pursuit. The Indian camp was abandoned in 
such haste that the lodges were still standing, filled with their 
effects, blankets, buffalo robes and provisions. Packers who 
knew the Indian customs went over the ground and found many 
"caches," where the Indians had buried their greatest treasures, 
in expectation of return. From these caches beautiful beaded 
ceremonial robes, belts, rugs and trinkets were taken out and 
sold to the officers. They were well covered with sod and so 
smoothly buried that no one not accustomed to this habit would 
have dreamed of locating them. 



62 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 



TRANSPORT OF WOUNDED 



July 12, Dr. Sternberg was left at Kamiah on the Clearwater 
in charge of twenty-seven severely wounded, with verbal 
instructions to convey them to Grangeville, 25 miles distant. 
There was very little transportation or assistance to get the 
wounded back to civilization. Captain Winters was in com- 
mand of the escort with a few wagons, some horses and 
mules (all inferior animals) ; the good horses and mules were 
taken to pursue the fleeing Indians. The transportation was 
too limited to afford comfortable travel over the rough moun- 
tain roads to Grangeville and then to Fort Lapwai. Dr. Stern- 
berg had used the "travois" in the Indian Territory in a war 
against the Cheyenne Indians, and on seeing the lodge poles 
left by the Indians he evolved a plan for transporting his 
wounded soldiers on the travois. Very little time was required 
before all was in readiness for starting on the trip to Grange- 
ville, where they arrived at 2 a. m., July 14. 

From Captain Winters, the commander of the escort, I after- 
wards learned the details. At times when the horses and mules 
were halted and the wounded supplied with water, food and 
stimulants, Dr. Sternberg would inquire of the wounded men 
on travois if they wished to make a change with the men in 
the wagons. No one expressed such a desire. The travois 
proved much more comfortable, the long flexible poles drag- 
ging along slowly mounted over the rocks and ridges, without 
the jolt that accompanies even the motion of a wagon with 
springs. The experiences of the night were quite harassing. 
Joseph had been very shrewd in all of his movements, and the 
men felt almost certain that he would elude his pursuers and 
return. Dr. Sternberg, much exhausted from his work and 
the great strain and loss of sleep, found it difficult to keep 
awake as he rode alone during those long dark hours. Captain 
Winters was fearful he would fall asleep and get hurt by his 
horse. He therefore instructed his orderly to ride beside Dr. 
Sternberg and guide the horse and his conversation seemed to 
thoroughly awaken him. He then told Captain Winters he 
would ride ahead of the train, arouse the village, and get the 
people ready to receive the wounded, that perhaps he would be 
able to get a few winks of sleep and rest before the wounded 
arrived. Captain Winters agreed. 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 63 

The inhabitants of Grangeville responded quickly, and very- 
soon all the women were making arrangements to have hot 
coffee, sandwiches, bread and butter for the wounded and 
escort. Dr. Sternberg had taken possession of a large build- 
ing used as a meeting place and carpenter's shop for the recep- 
tion of the wounded. After the wounded were refreshed and 
their wounds dressed, they were made generally more com- 
fortable. The people of the village were as nervous as they 
could well be over the thought that Joseph and his band might 
appear at any moment. Few of the settlers thought he would 
ever leave the Wallowa Valley which he loved so passionately, 
and all seemed to have the same impression that he would elude 
General Howard. This made Dr. Sternberg exceedingly 
anxious to get his wounded safely into Lapwai, where a well 
equipped hospital awaited them. 

A condensed statement of Dr. Sternberg's report to the Sur- 
geon General gives the details of the subsequent movements. 
July 19, Dr. Sternberg received permission to transfer the 
wounded from Grangeville to Fort Lapwai; he left Grange- 
ville at 4 p. m., marched 18 miles and went into camp, arriving 
there at 9 p. m. They started at 5 a. m. July 20, marched 18 
miles to Mason's deserted ranch, arriving there at 12 m., and 
halting for rest, dinner and to dress the wounds. They started 
again at 4 p. m and marched 18 miles to White's deserted 
ranch, camped there for the night, to start once more at 6 a. m. 
July 21, reaching Fort Lapwai at 9 a. m. Two of the wounded 
died on the journey from the battlefield to Grangeville and in 
another case Dr. Sternberg was obliged to amputate at the 
knee joint on his trip from Grangeville to Lapwai. 

I had not received any news from my husband for ten days, 
I did not know where he was or to what command he had been 
attached, whether he had fared ill or well, and I had no word 
of him through other officers of the garrison. Late one night I 
was wakeful and feeling quite uneasy, when a horse came at a 
swift gallop into the garrison ; from the Mexican spurs clank- 
ing on the board walk, I knew the rider could be none other 
than a courier from the front. Jumping from my bed, I ran to 
the top of the stairway, for the courier had stepped on the 
front porch. We lived in a double set of quarters, the com- 
manding officer on one side and the surgeon on the other. I 



64 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

listened with almost breathless anxiety and heard the courier 
speak of a battle. Then Mrs. Grover, the wife of the com- 
manding officer called to me: "They have had a battle, your 
husband is safe and here is a letter from him to you. The 
courier brought a lot of letters but I have no one to deliver 
them." I said "Give them to me, I will deliver them." After 
I had read the consoling words that my dear one was well and 
in charge of the wounded on his way back to Fort Lapwai, I 
ran out into the black night with the bundle of letters directed 
to others. I did not have to ring or rap at any door ; all were 
on the lookout for news and had heard me running on the 
board walk. 

Dr. Sternberg was on the way, anxiously pushing along the 
route hoping to get the wounded safely into Fort Lapwai. The 
wounded were doing as well as could be expected on the rough 
journey. The next courier to Fort Walla Walla came with a 
letter saying that if I could bring a good servant my husband 
would be very glad to have me join him at Fort Lapwai. After 
consulting June, a faithful Chinese cook, I read him the letter 
and asked him if he would go with me, adding some informa- 
tion in regard to the station's proximity to the Indians. He 
looked thoughtful for a moment, then he inquired, "You go?" 
and I said "Yes, if you will go with me," whereupon he agreed 
to go. General Grover made all the necessary arrangements 
for me to go in the morning by train to Wallula and by the 
boat up the river. 

We arrived in due time at Lewiston. There awaiting the 
steamer I saw Dr. Sternberg looking for me and my Chinaman. 
As we walked up the steep incline from the river to the hotel 
my husband looked at me and said : "The whole situation has 
changed so since I asked you to come that I am not sure that 
I do not owe it to you to send you immediately home again." 
I laughed and said "I don't want to be sent home and where 
you are is home for me." 

The scenes were just a little more exciting than usual for 
everywhere there were soldiers, ammunition and cannons. The 
very atmosphere seemed full of something unusual and war- 
like. A large conveyance came to take us to Fort Lapwai, 12 
miles distant, and we were soon on the way. At an abrupt turn 
I had my first glimpse of the fort. Not long after we were 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 65 

passing numbers of reservation Indians on their way to visit the 
Indian prisoners recently sent to Fort Lapwai, there to be kept 
under guard. We passed the hospital, then the stockade, the 
guardhouse, and entered the gate to an enclosed parade ground. 
The first house to the right on the officers' row was that of 
Colonel Perry, who had turned it over to Dr. Sternberg during 
his stay at Lapwai. Officers continued to pass through the post 
every day, there was no place, no mess, really no home, where 
they could rest and get refreshment. Consequently we seldom 
had a meal alone and often I would be asked by my hospitable 
husband to do the best I could for some poor fellow who had 
just arrived almost exhausted from a long ride. We lived with 
the doors wide open, and at night we slept lightly, to be able to 
rouse easily for any emergency. The guns stood in the best 
positions for quick seizure in case they were needed. The only 
soldiers at the post for all guard duty were about twenty men 
left from one of the regimental bands. We knew that in case 
of need these men would be dependable and brave, though they 
had not been drilled and were not expected to fight. Early in 
the war a block house had been established in one of the houses 
in the officers' row, and casks of water and provisions were 
kept in the cellar. Cord wood had been stacked all around the 
house to protect it from shot and all the women and children 
had been instructed in case of attack to take shelter there. 

The Indian prisoners became discontented and restless in 
their confinement, while the number of friendly visiting Indians 
increased daily. The ladies grew more and more nervous in 
regard to the number of prisoners and the very few soldiers, 
while the Indian Agent was uneasy about the constant inter- 
course between the Reservation Indians and prisoners. Settlers 
periodically started rumors that Joseph had evaded General 
Howard and was on his way back. A report to Washington on 
the conditions relating to the Reservation Indians and the 
prisoners of war brought an order for the removal of the latter 
to Fort Vancouver or some other place. Never shall I forget 
the deep moans, and the peculiar cries of the Indians when 
informed they were to be sent away. The Reservation Nez 
Perces flocked near the stockade to sympathize with and to say 
good-bye to these poor forsaken human beings leaving forever 
their own country. They cut necklaces of beads from their 



66 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

persons, and beaded work from their clothing, and threw 
moccasins over the stockade as parting gifts. A remnant of a 
brave race was leaving forever a beautiful valley that had once 
been their home. 

In the stillness of a night I heard a footfall on the board walk 
and up the front steps into our house, and a voice saying 
hastily, "Dr. Sternberg, the packer is bleeding profusely from 
his leg." My husband jumped from his bed and called to the 
man "Put on the tourniquet, put on the tourniquet, I will be 
there in a moment." And in a few seconds he was on his way. 
On his return he confided to me he had experienced no end of 
care and anxiety with this patient because he would not con- 
sent to amputation. It was feared the man would lose his life 
and though repeatedly informed of that possibility, the 
wounded man had replied that he would rather lose his life 
than his leg. Soon after this the crisis came and he was obliged 
to face the inevitable, and he gave his consent to operation then 
at much greater risk than would have been experienced earlier. 
We often saw him at a later date in Walla Walla. He would 
invariably come to the carriage to say "Let me kiss the hand 
that saved my life." This recalls to my mind the same senti- 
ment expressed by a poor colored man in Florida upon whom 
Dr. Sternberg had operated for a cataract. The operation was 
a success and the man to whom sight had been restored never 
allowed Dr. Sternberg to pass without running to kiss his 
hand. 

After the removal of the Nez Perces with their wives and 
their children, there was a wave of quiet prevailing at Fort 
Lapwai for a few hours. The Army news was that Gen. Frank 
Wheaton had arrived with his regiment from Georgia to join 
the forces in the field. Scouting parties were sent in every direc- 
tion to see if any traces of the Nez Perces could be found in 
the old hunting grounds and in our vicinity. The settlers were 
in a constant state of stampede because of the rumors. After 
a thorough search it became quite evident that the non-treaty 
Indians and their allies were not lurking in their old haunts. 
Meantime Colonel Green with a cavalry force from Fort 
Boise had joined the army in the field. Some of his troops 
aided General Howard in the pursuit of Joseph over the Lolo 
trail, while he and two troops of cavalry remained at Mount 



NEZ PERCES CAMPAIGN 67 

Idaho to intercept returning or renegade Indians. General 
Howard was moving over the Lolo trail into Montana and 
soon Fort Lapwai would only hear from them through couriers 
and officers on business. The wounded and the sick in the 
hospital were at this time all doing well, many of them mov- 
ing about the garden or sitting on the porch. In the meantime 
more surgeons had come with the troops into the Department 
of Columbia and it was decided to send Dr. Sternberg to his 
post at Walla Walla. This was a welcome change for he had 
endured great hardship and much exposure, after which the 
prospect of a rest was greatly appreciated. 

EARLY WORK ON DISINFECTANTS 

November 2, 1878, Dr. Sternberg received a telegraphic 
order to represent the Medical Department of the Army at the 
meeting of the American Public Health Association, in Rich- 
mond, Va., November 19. The date of the meeting gave very 
limited time for crossing the continent, and on inquiry, it 
was learned that he could not go east by way of Portland and 
San Francisco (the most comfortable route) and reach Rich- 
mond in time for the meeting. He was therefore obliged to 
take the stage route to the Central Pacific R. R. at Winne- 
mucca, Nevada, a long rough trip of nearly 450 miles. The 
meals furnished at the station en route were so unwholesome, 
consisting largely of bacon, fried potatoes and hot bread, that 
indigestion soon added to the discomfort of all the passengers. 
A lady passenger and Dr. Sternberg both fainted in the stage 
in consequence of the hardships encountered in making this 
frontier trip. The cordial greetings of professional friends, 
participation in the discussions of able papers, and the inspira- 
tion that came from contact with men of sympathetic interests, 
all served to fire him with renewed ambition. He returned 
home from the scientific meeting determined to solve some 
interesting problems on which he had previously worked. 

In addition to hi-s professional post work at Fort Walla 
Walla, Dr. Sternberg had quite a large outside practice, yet in 
1878 he began experiments to determine the practical value of 
commercial disinfectants, a line of work with which his name 
henceforth became conspicuously identified until the question 
was finally and satisfactorily settled. He had previously given 



68 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

much time and thought to this work, and he deserves great 
credit for what he accomplished in this remote place even at 
that date. With no facilities for scientific experiment except 
those he improvised, and with only such materials as were at 
hand, he began a work of great practical and scientific value. 
The work reached its conclusion in 1885, and served to bring 
him renown. To quote from an expert in this field : 

No one unless familiar with bacteriological work can have 
the slightest conception of the magnitude of the painstaking 
labor involved in the determination of the thermal death point 
of pathogenic organisms, and the germicidal value of certain 
chemical and physical agents. It required daily and exacting 
application, extending over a period of years, but it was a 
glorious work in the battle against infectious diseases. The 
eradication of preventable diseases is the highest aim of scien- 
tific medicine today, and in this field Dr. Sternberg was one 
of the chief foundation builders.^ 

April 18, 1879, a telegraphic order relieved Dr. Sternberg 
from the post at Walla Walla and directed him to report to the 
Surgeon-General at Washington, D. C. In our service at Army 
posts I always became much attached to our friends and to our 
many homes. I was in consequence very sad when we were 
again required to bid adieu to pleasant surroundings. On 
inquiry we learned that our belongings could not be shipped 
across the continent at a reasonable rate. The railroad officials 
were clever in those days : if your things were heavy, the com- 
pany weighed them ; if they were crated and bulky, they meas- 
ured them and charged accordingly. I knew we could never 
replace some of our household treasures, but there was no 
alternative, and we were forced to let them go. In disposing 
of our horses we tried to give them good homes, where they 
would be kindly treated. In due time we had again crossed 
the continent. 



1. Kober, G. M. : Sternberg the Scientist and Author, Address 
delivered at the complimentary dinner to Gen. George M. Sternberg. 
Washington, 1908. 



CHAPTER EIGHT 

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 

Dr. Sternberg was very happy as we approached the East 
and were near the end of our journey. He knew that in the 
East he was to have opportunity ; that he would be able there 
to pursue under favorable conditions the scientific and sani- 
tary research on which he was engaged. There he would be 
in touch with men interested in his line of endeavor, and with 
the modem developments of research work. On our arrival 
in Washington, Dr. Sternberg was detailed for duty with the 
Havana Yellow Fever Commission of the National Board of 
Health. We arranged for a very quiet life, so that he could 
give his entire attention to the microscopical work in connec- 
tion with the examination of the blood and tissues of yellow 
fever patients. He spent a great deal of time in working with 
high power lenses and in making photomicrographs, as a new 
and valuable method for illustrating his future research work. 
Photomicrography proved very fatiguing work, requiring 
much time and great care and patience. The entire process 
was so delicate that frequently the jar of a wagon passing on 
the street would throw an object out of focus and so result in 
great disappointment. Yet Dr. Sternberg never lost faith in 
this process, as he indicates in a paper presented to the Micro- 
scopical Society in 1892. He considered photomicrographs 
far superior to handmade drawings, in that they show in a 
very satisfactory manner the structural details of miscoscopic 
objects, because they exclude those errors which result from 
faulty drawings, careless observation, or suppression and 
exaggeration of detail due to personal bias. They are unim- 
peachable evidence of what has been seen under the micro- 
scope, and as such, will always have special value as 
illustrations for original research work relating to the mor- 
phology of micro-organisms or histological details of animal 
and vegetable tissue. The art of making photomicrographs 
had its origin in this country at the Army Medical Museum in 
Washington, where Dr. Curtis made the first successful effort 
and Woodward achieved remarkable success in photographing 



70 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

difficult test diatoms, etc. Dr. Robert Koch, the famous 
German bacteriologist, first employed this method in illustrating 
some of his papers relating to bacteria, and published many 
admirable photomicrographs, as long ago as 1877. 

THE HAVANA YELLOW FEVER COMMISSION 

The Yellow Fever Commission consisted of Dr. Stanford 
Chaille of New Orleans (Chairman), Mr. Hardue, civil engi- 
neer of New Orleans, Dr. Sternberg (Secretary), and Dr. Juan 
Guiteras of Havana. Later, through Dr. Sternberg's letters, 
I was made acquainted with his newly acquired friends resid- 
ing in Cuba, Dr. Carlos Finlay with whom he became intimate, 
Dr. Emiles Martinez, Dr. Tincende de la Suardia of the 
Charity Hospital, Dr. D. M. Burgess, United States Sanitary 
Inspector and practising physician in Havana, and other pro- 
fessional men who were intensely interested and very helpful 
in the work. 

The Yellow Fever Commission received the following 
instructions from the National Board of Health. 

First : to ascertain the actual sanitary conditions of the 
principal ports of Cuba from which shipments are made to the 
United States. Second: to increase existing knowledge as to 
the pathology of yellow fever. Third : to obtain as much 
information as possible with regard to the so-called endemicity. 

In the division of labor made by the members of the Com- 
mission, the duty of conducting the investigations under the 
first and third of the above instructions was assigned to the 
chairman, Dr. Chaille, those under the second heading to Dr. 
Guiteras, while the attention of Dr. Sternberg was to be given 
chiefly to investigations contemplated in the following addi- 
tional instructions : 

But in addition to these the National Board of Health desires 
that the Commission shall consider certain problems relating 
to the disease, problems which may be entirely insoluble, but 
which nevertheless are of such importance that an eflfort should 
be made to decide whether the National Board of Health will 
be justified in undertaking the labor and expense, which will 
probably be required to obtain anything like a complete solu- 
tion of them, if such solution is at all possible. These prob- 
lems relate to the nature and natural history of the cause 
of yellow fever. 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 71 

Like all his writings, my letters from him contained infor- 
mation clearly stated and always comprehensive. I had taken 
a great interest in his preparatory work, because he was kind 
enough to wish me to know his aims. In conversations at home 
he patiently explained matters with the greatest care and detail, 
thereby educating me up to a point of intelligent interest. His 
letters continued to bring a reasonable amount of detail of his 
laboratory work and kept me in touch with his surroundings 
and ambitions. Dr. Sternberg's own experience, the obser- 
vations of Dr. Joseph Jones of New Orleans, of Dr. Cockran 
of Mobile, Ala., and in fact of all medical men with extensive 
and excellent opportunities for observation in hospital and 
private practice, agreed that the prominent symptoms of yellow 
fever indicated that the causative organisms would possibly 
be found in the blood of patients suffering with the disease. 
Dr. Sternberg consequently gave much of his time to micro- 
scopic examination of the blood of patients in all stages of the 
disease, and in making a photomicrographic record of all cases. 
At one time ninety-eight specimens from forty-one undoubted 
cases of yellow fever were carefully studied, and 105 photo- 
graphic negatives were made. 

In Cuba Dr. Sternberg used sunlight reflected by a heliostat, 
and he worked in a dark room which constituted the camera. 
Many of the photomicrographs he made at that time won com- 
mendation from experts, while some of them have never been 
equaled. One who knew Dr. Sternberg intimately has spoken 
of his reputation for "clear statements of the results in his 
experimental data." The enormous labor he bestowed on the 
p'erfection and simplification of technic will always be appre- 
ciated by research workers. It is not generally known that 
Dr. Sternberg was the pioneer in bacteriology in the United 
States ; there were, in fact, no workers in pure bacteriology in 
this country when he entered the field. He gave to his pro- 
fession services the importance of which was not generally 
appreciated at that time, except by a few scientific men and 
students who came in contact with him. 

In 1880 I was made very happy by the receipt of a letter 
telling me the Yellow Fever Commission was preparing to 
return home. A date had been fixed for leaving Havana, 
though a great deal of time was required for packing the valu- 



72 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

able material which was to be kept for future reference. We 
remained in Georgetown (D. C.) while Dr. Sternberg was 
engaged in writing his report. The next meeting of the 
National Board of Health was for him a great event. Friends 
were cordial in their greeting and his preliminary report was 
well received. Soon thereafter he was again at work in the 
laboratory going over his field notes and cultivating various 
bacteria which he had isolated and brought home with him for 
experimental work and further study. While in Havana he 
had examined many specimens of blood from patients in all 
stages of yellow fever, but thus far the specific germ had 
evaded his faithful search. Enough had been accomplished to 
convince him and members of the profession especially inter- 
ested in the research that greater progress must be made in the 
new science of bacteriology before definite conclusions regard- 
ing the causative organism of yellow fever could be reached 
and proclaimed. 

The following quotation shows Dr. Sternberg's appreciation 
of the magnitude of his task : 

I might well have hesitated before undertaking this unprom- 
ising investigation if the language of our instructions had 
implied that the National Board of Health considered this an 
easy task and one which was expected would be accomplished 
during our brief stay in Havana, but you will observe that no 
such result was anticipated, that the difficulty of the undertaking 
was fully appreciated and that the work of the Havana Com- 
mission in this direction was looked upon as pioneer work to 
decide whether the National Board will be justified in under- 
taking the labor and expense which will probably be required 
to obtain anything like a complete solution, if such solution is 
at all possible. 

Dr Sternberg had faith that science and painstaking work 
would eventually solve the problem, but he knew enough of 
the disease to have little expectation that three months' work 
in Havana would do more than clear away some of the obstruc- 
tions from the path of future investigators. 

STUDIES OF MALARIA 

Under instructions from the National Board of Health, Dr. 
Sternberg proceeded to New Orleans in 1880 to investigate 
the micro-organisms in the air, and to make a study of malarial 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 7Z 

fever. He very soon arranged his temporary laboratory and 
was speedily interested in making cultures from plates exposed 
in the air or from specimens of mud from the gutters and 
elsewhere. 

The important announcement that Laveran, a French army 
surgeon at that time stationed in Algeria, had discovered the 
organism of malarial fever, induced the National Board of 
Health to have Dr. Sternberg verify these claims. It hap- 
pened that one year before the publication of Laveran's paper, 
the distinguished German pathologist Klebs in association with 
a prominent Italian physician, Tommasi-Crudeli, had announced 
the discovery of a bacillus which they believed to be the true 
cause of the disease. Their investigations were made in Rome, 
with material obtained from the malarial marshes in the vicinity 
of that city. The instructions of Dr. Sternberg were "to make 
control experiments in a recognized malarial locality in this 
country." In 1881 he made his report, based upon repeated 
cultures and animal experimentation. His task was difficult 
and unpleasant, and every line of thought was followed out 
before final negative conclusions were reached and given out. 
He made a clear and positive statement of his work and proved 
conclusively that the so-called "bacillus malariae" of Klebs 
and Tommasi-Crudeli has nothing to do with the causation of 
malarial fevers. 

At the time of this report on the results of control experi- 
ments with the Klebs and Tommasi-Crudeli bacillus, the public 
and medical profession had quite generally accepted and 
favored the claim of these men, but Dr. Sternberg never 
wavered in his conviction that they had made a mistake, and 
he stood firmly by his experimental data. Today, no one 
speaks of the bacillus of Klebs-Tommasi-Crudeli, except as one 
of many pseudo-discoveries. It is regrettable that so much of 
Dr. Sternberg's time had to be given to the negative phase of 
scientific research, that of confirming or refuting theories and 
conclusions of other investigators. 

DISCOVERY OF THE PNEUMOCOCCUS 

In February, 1881, Dr. Sternberg discovered a pneumococcus 
which is now recognized as the pathogenic agent of croupous 
pneumonia, and which he found to be constant in his own 



74 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

sputum. This micro-organism he also found to be identical 
with the organism described by Dr. Pasteur, Jan. 24, 1881, in 
a communication to the Academy of Sciences of Paris.^ 
Priority is therefore accorded to the latter in accordance 
with the usual law (priority of pubHcation). Both Dr. 
Pasteur and Dr. Sternberg found that this bacillus produced 
septicemia in inoculated animals and assumed it to be the 
pathogenic agent of this disease. Dr. Sternberg's communica- 
tion, pubHshed in the Bulletin of the National Board of Health, 
April 30, 1881, is as follows: 

In a report (not yet published) made to the National Board 
of Health in February last, I have given a detailed account of 
certain experiments, made in the first instance as a check upon 
experiments relating to the so-called Bacillus malariue of Klebs 
and Tommasi-Crudeli, which show that my own saliva has 
remarkable virulent properties when injected into the sub- 
cutaneous connective tissue of a rabbit. Further experiments, 
made in the biological laboratory of the Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity, have fully confirmed the results heretofore obtained, 
and the object of the present report is to place upon record 
these last experiments, which are of special interest just now 
because of the announcement by Pasteur, of "a neiv disease," 
produced in rabbits by the subcutaneous injection of the saliva 
of an infant which died of hydrophobia in one of the hospitals 
of Paris. 

I have demonstrated by repeated experiments — 

That my saliva in doses of 1.23 ex. to 1.75 c.cr injected into 
the suh cutaneous connective tissue of a rabbit, infallibly pro- 
duces death, usually unthin forty-eight hours. 

Query. Do similar results follow the injection of other fluids 
containing organic matter in suspension or solution? 

Ansiver. One c.c. of my own blood failed to kill a rabbit; 
1 c.c. of putrid urine containing B. tcrino in abundance failed 
to kill a small rabbit; 1 c.c. (each) of Hquid feces and distilled 
water, (1 to 10), failed to kill two rabbits; 1.25 c.c. of bouillon 
undergoing putrefaction and loaded with B. termo, failed to 
kill a rabbit ; 1 c.c. of sediment from Baltimore water, consist- 



1. Pasteur, L. : Sur une maladie nouvelle provoquee par la salive 
d'un enfant mort de rage. Compt. rend. Acad. d. sc. de Paris 92:159. 
1881. 

2. I have commonly injected an amomit varying from 5 to 25 
minims, according to the size of the animal, but in small rabbits have 
had a fatal result in three cases out of five follow the injection of 1 
minim diluted with 5 minims of water. 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 75 

ing of organic debris and organisms — chiefly Bacilltis subtilis, 
Leptothrix pusilla, Protococcus, and a few diatoms and flagel- 
late monads, failed to kill a rabbit.^ 

On the other hand, injections of a small quantity of surface 
mud from the gutters of New Orleans during the month of 
September, 1880, invariably produced fatal results within forty- 
eight hours. (See unpublished report above referred to.) 

Query. Does the saliva of other individuals injected in the 
same manner produce similar results ? 

Answer. The saliva of four students, residents of Balti- 
more, (in March), gave negative results; eleven rabbits in- 
jected with the saliva of six individuals in Philadelphia, (in 
January), gave eight deaths and three negative results; but 
in the fatal cases, a less degree of virulence was shown in six 
cases by a more prolonged period between the date of injec- 
tion and the date of death. This was three days in one, four 
days in four, and seven days in one. 

Query. Is there any recognizable peculiarity in the saliva 
which exhibits the greatest degree of virulence? 

Answer. In the case of Dr. S., whose saliva shows an 
exceptional virulence, the teeth are sound, the secretions of the 
mouth normal in physical properties and reaction, and the gen- 
eral health good. There is, perhaps, an unusual flow of saliva, 
but no other noticeable peculiarity. 

Query. Is there any plausible hypothesis by which this dif- 
ference in virulence can be explained ? 

Answer. This question will require for its solution more 
extended experiments. In the meantime it may be mentioned, 
as having a possible bearing upon the subject, that Dr. S. has 
been engaged to a considerable extent, during the past two 
years, in studies which have brought him in contact with septic 
material. Dr. F., of Philadelphia, whose saHva killed (after 
a longer interval) two rabbits, is pathologist to a large hospital, 
and consequently is constantly brought in contact with septic 
material. Mr. N. and Mr. B., whose saliva killed all the rabbits 
operated upon, (four), are residents of seaport towns in Cuba.^ 

1. Coze and Feltz found, as the result of numerous experiments, 
that the blood of healthy persons, and that of persons sick with non- 
infectious maladies, does not produce fatal results when injected into 
the subcutaneous tissue of rabbits. (Clinical and Exp. Researches 
upon Infectious Maladies, 8°, Paris, 1872). Pasteur also has inocu- 
lated, without result, the saliva of asphyxiated rabbits and of men 
dead with common diseases (I.e.). 

2. The possibility that this septic condition of the secretions of the 
mouth may bear some relation to the protection which these Cubans 
and myself enjoy against yellow fever, which is a disease presenting 
many points of resemblance to septicaemia, has occurred to me, and 
without, at present, laying any great stress upon this possibility, I 
think it worthy of further experimental considerations. 



n GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Query. Is death produced in other animals by the sub- 
cutaneous injection of human saliva, which is virulent for 
rabbits ? 

Answer. Injection of 4 c.c. into each of two small dogs pro- 
duced local abscesses at point of injection, but no other notice- 
able result.^ Injection of 0.25 c.c. (each) into five chickens 
produced no result. Injection of 0.75 c.c. (each) into three 
guinea-pigs proved fatal to two — one in three and one in seven 
days. Injection of 0.5 c.c. into five rats resulted fatally to one 
only.2 

Query. What is the nature of the fatal malady produced in 
rabbits by the subcutaneous injection of the saliva of certain 
individuals ? 

Answer. The course of the disease and the post-mortem 
appearances indicate that it is a form of septiccemia. Imme- 
diately after the injection there is a rise of temperature, which 
in a few hours may reach 2° to 3° centigrade, (3.6° to 5.4° 
Fah.) ; the temperature subsequently falls, and shortly before 
death is often several degrees below the normal. There is loss 
of appetite and marked debilit}^ after twenty-four hours, and 
the animal commonly dies during the second night or early in 
the morning of the second day after the injection. Death 
results still more quickly when the blood from a rabbit recently 
dead, is injected. Not infrequently convulsions immediately 
precede death. 

The date and mode of death correspond with that reported 
by Pasteur in the memoir referred to. Two rabbits injected 
with buccal mucus from the mouth of a child recently dead 
with hydrophobia, December 11, were found dead December 
13. Other rabbits inoculated with the blood and saliva of 
these died in still less time. Inoculations with fresh blood 
usually produced death in less than twenty-four hours. 

The most marked pathological appearance is a diffuse inflam- 
matory oedema or cellulitis, extending in all directions from 
the point of injection, but especially to the dependent portions 
of the body. Occasionally there is a little pus near the punc- 
ture, but usually death occurs before the cellulitis reaches the 
point of producing pus. The subcutaneous connective tissue 
contains a quantity of bloody serum, which possesses virulent 
properties, and which contains a multitude of micrococci. 

1. A dog succumbed, however, to an injection of 1 c.c. of serum 
from the subcutaneous cellular tissue of a rabbit recently dead. 

2. The results obtained by me in these experiments correspond with 
those reported by Pasteur in the paper already referred to, viz : guinea- 
pig less susceptible than rabbit, complete immunity of the chicken, 
and susceptibility of the dog to the "new disease" as the result of 
injections of blood from dead rabbits. 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 77 

There is usually more or less inflammatory adhesion of the 
integument to the subjacent tissues. The liver is sometimes 
dark colored and gorged with blood, but more frequently is of 
a lighter color than normal, and contains much fat. The spleen 
is either normal in appearance or enlarged and dark colored. 
Changes in this organ are more marked in those cases which 
are of the longest duration. In certain cases dark colored pig- 
ment has been found in the spleen, resembHng that which has 
been supposed to be characteristic of malarial fever. The 
blood is dark colored, usually fluid, and there is a tendency to 
agglutination of the red corpuscles. 

The blood commonly contains an immense number of micro- 
cocci, usually joined in pairs, and having a diameter of about 
0.5 fx. These are found in blood drawn from superficial veins, 
from arteries, and from the cavities of the heart immediatel> 
after death, and in a few cases their presence has been verified 
during life ; observations thus far made indicate, however, that 
it is only during the last hours of life that these parasites multi- 
ply in the circulating fluid, and in a certain proportion of the 
cases a careful search has failed to reveal their presence in 
post-mortem examinations made immediately upon the death 
of the animal. This organism, however, is invariably found in 
great abundance in the serum which exudes in considerable 
quantities from the oedematous connective tissue when an 
incision is made through the integument over any point 
involved in the inflammatory oedema extending from the origi- 
nal puncture. 

A perusal of the paper of Pasteur, already referred to, has 
induced me to pay special attention in three ^ recent postmor- 
tems to some points to which this author refers, which I had 
not noticed in previous examinations, viz : to the condition of 
the trachea, the lungs, and the lymphatic glands in the groins 
and axilae. 

Pasteur says, "The cellular tissue is almost always emphy- 
sematous." (This has not been observed to be the case, 
except to a slight extent in one instance in the rabbits operated 
upon by me.) "The lungs are frequently filled with noyaux 
of pulmonary apoplexy." (I have found this to be the case 
in one out of three rabbits examined since my attention has 
been directed to this point.) "A character more constant 
than the last (not more constant, however, than that which 
relates to the volume and color of the ganglions) y is the state 
of the trachea, which is almost invariably red, congested with 
little hemorrhages from the smallest vessels." (I have found 
a marked congestion of the vessels of the trachea in the three 
cases in which I have examined it, and in one case the lym- 
phatic glands of the axillae were enlarged and congested.) 



78 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Query. What constituent of the saliva injected produces the 
fatal malady in question ? 

Answer. The following facts demonstrate that the 
phenomena detailed result from the presence of a living organ- 
ism found in the saliva — a micrococcus — which multiplies 
abundantly in the subcutaneous connective tissue, and also in 
the blood shortly before or after death. 

(a) The poison is particulate. This is proved by numerous 
filtration experiments. Example: March 15, 11 a. m. Injected 
1 c.c. of filtered saliva (filtered through thin stratum of plaster 
of Paris, by means of Sprengel's pump) into left flank of 
rabbit weighing 1 pound, and at the same time one-fourth the 
quantity of unfiltered saliva into a rabbit of the same size. No 
harm resulted to the first rabbit, while the second died the fol- 
lowing day, at 5.30 p. m. 

(b) The virulence of the saliva is destroyed by boiling. 

(c) The saliva loses its virulence when kept for twenty- 
four hours in a culture chamber, at a temperature of 37° 
centigrade. 

(d) The addition of one part of a 10 per cent, solution of 
carbolic acid to two parts of saliva destroys its virulence. 

(e) The effused serum from the subcutaneous connective 
tissue of a rabbit recently dead, produces death attended with 
the same phenomena as resulted from the injection of the saliva 
in the first instance. But this does not contain epithelial cells 
or salivary corpuscles, and we are, therefore, justified in 
excluding these as possible agents in the production of the 
results indicated. Moreover, these are present at all times in 
the saHva of all individuals, while virulence, at least such an 
intense degree of virulence, is an exceptional property of 
human saliva. 

(/) This serum loses its virulence by filtration. 

Unfiltered serum from a recently dead rabbit has invariably 
proved fatal in smaller quantity and in less time than is re- 
quired by the saHva in the first instance, showing an increase 
of virulence as the result of successive cultivation of the 
organism in the body of a susceptible animal. This corre- 
sponds with the results obtained by Davaine, Koch, Pasteur, 
jind others. I have not attempted to ascertain the minimum 
quantity which will produce death. Davaine says : "A rabbit 
may be killed by the %ooo P^rt of a drop of septic blood.'* 

Note. — The presence of B. Termo and an odor of putrefaction in 
saliva kept for twenty-four hours in a culture chamber shows that 
changes are occurring which have heretofore been recognized as 
destructive of the septic poison (organism), e. g., the virulence of the 
poison which produces dangerous dissection wounds is lost when 
putrefactive changes set in. 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 79 

(Bull, de TAcad. de Med., 2 s., t. viii, p. 121.) In my filtration 
experiments I injected, however, quantities far in excess of the 
amount required to produce speedy death if unfiltered serum 
had been employed. 

Example: March 14. Injected 2 c.c. of filtered serum 
(from subcutaneous connective tissue of rabbit recently dead) 
diluted with distilled water (1 to 20) without result, while 
one-quarter the quantity (0.5 c.c.) of the same dilution unfil- 
tered, injected at the same time into another rabbit, produced 
death in twenty-four hours. 

(^) The micrococcus present in the serum from the con- 
nective tissue of a rabbit which has succumbed to a sub- 
cutaneous injection of saliva, may be cultivated in bouillon 
made from the flesh of a healthy rabbit, or in blood serum 
from a healthy dog, and these fluids thereby acquire a viru- 
lence which they did not have before. 

My first efforts to cultivate the micrococcus in urine, in 
gelatine solution, and in bouillon made from the flesh of a 
dog, all proved ineffectual, and these fluids after inoculation 
with blood or serum from the connective tissue, showed a 
temporary virulence only, which was doubtless due to the 
presence of the micrococci introduced, which preserved their 
vitality for a certain time, although the conditions were not 
favorable for their increase. After a few days the first culture 
lost its virulence and successive inoculations gave negative 
results, both as to the presence of the micrococcus and as to 
noxious properties when injected into rabbits. 

{h) Successive cultures in which but a small drop is taken 
each time to inoculate a fresh quantity of bouillon exclude the 
white and red blood corpuscles (filtration experiments have 
already shown the poison to be particulate) as possible agents 
in the production of this virulence, and prove conclusively that 
the veritable cause is the presence of a micrococcus, found first 
in the saliva, then in the serum from the connective tissue, and 
(usually) in the blood of the animal killed by the injection of 
saliva, and finally in each successive culture fluid inoculated, 
(in the first instance), with a small quantity of this serum or 
blood. 

Within a few hours after inoculating sterilized bouillon 
made from the flesh of a rabbit (first tested for several days 
in a culture oven at a temperature of Z7° cent.) with blood, or 
serum from subcutaneous connective tissue of a rabbit recently 
dead, the fluid — previously transparent — becomes opalescent, 
and upon microscopical examination is found to contain innu- 
merable micrococci, solitary, in pairs, and in torula chains. 
The same result follows upon inoculating a second portion 
with a minute drop from the first, and so on. The continued 
virulence of these successive cultures I have amply proved. 



80 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Example: April 13. Injected 1 c.c. of bouillon culture 
No. 6 (six successive inoculations, the first with serum from 
subcutaneous connective tissue of rabbit), into left flank of a 
large rabbit. Result: The animal was found dead on the 
morning of the 16th, and presented the usual appearances upon 
portmortem examination. Its blood and the effused serum in 
subcutaneous connective tissue contained, as usual, an immense 
number of micrococci, like those already described. 

Query. Does the micrococcus found under the circum- 
stances detailed differ from the Micrococcus septicus of Cohn, 
and is it identical with the organism described by Pasteur, as 
present in the blood of rabbits killed by the subcutaneous injec- 
tion of the saliva of an infant dead from hydrophobia, (I.e.) ? 

Anszver. Cohn describes the M. septicus, as follows : 

"Little rounded cells, of 0.5/x, motionless and crowded in 
masses, or united in chaplets in the secretion of wounds in 
cases of septicaemia (Klebs), in sooglcoa in callous ulcers, in 
isolated cells, united in pairs, or in chaplets in the serum of 
epidemic puerperal fever (Waldeyer), in all the tissues, vessels, 
etc., in cases of pyaemia and septicaemia." (Magnin: The 
Bacteria, Boston, Little, Brown & Co., 1880, p. 76.) 

Pasteur gives the following description of the micrococcus 
found by him in the fatal disease described by him as new, 
and which he evidently does not consider identical with 
septicaemia, a disease which he had previously studied experi- 
mentally. It should be noticed, however, that Pasteur recog- 
nizes several forms of septicaemia. Thus he says: 

"And now we see why septicaemia has so often been con- 
founded with charbon; their causes are of the same order; it 
is a vibrio which causes septicaemia and a bacillus which pro- 
duces charbon. * * * Septicaemia and putrefaction in a 
living being are not the same thing. There are cls many dif- 
ferent septiccemias as there are different vibrios. * * ♦ Jn 
septicaemia the vibrios do not appear in the blood until the last 
thing, but in this liquid one of them takes a peculiar aspect, 
often longer than the diameter of the field of the microscope, 
and so transparent that it easily escapes observation; when, 
however, it is once perceived it is easily found again, flexible, 
climbing and removing the blood globules as a serpent moves 
the grass in the bushes," etc. (Charbon and septicaemia, C. R. 
Ac. des Sc, Ixxxv, 101-115.) 

This septic vibrio of Pasteur I found in the blood of rab- 
bits, victims of my experiments, in New Orleans during the 
past summer (Report to National Board of Health, not yet 
published), but have not since met with it; perhaps because it 
develops post morte^n and requires hot weather of summer for 
its development. Whether it is an independent organism or 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 81 

is developed under special conditions from the Micrococcus 
septicus, being an advanced phase in the development of this 
organism corresponding with the spore-producing filaments 
which have been shown to constitute one phase in the life- 
history of Bacillus anthracis (Koch) and of Bacterium termo 
(Ewart), is an interesting question for further research. The 
vivid language of Pasteur describes it well, and the wonderful 
vigor with which this extremely slender and almost transparent 
organism thrusts aside the blood corpuscles in its impetuous 
serpentine movements cannot fail to astonish the observer. 
The micrococcus of Pasteur's "new disease" is, on the con- 
trary, quite motionless, and is described as follows : 

"This organism is sometimes so small that it may escape a 
superficial observation. Its form does not differ from that of 
many other microscopic beings. It is an extremely short rod 
a little compressed towards the middle, resembhng a figure 8, 
and of which the diameter of each half often does not exceed 
a half a thousandth of a millimeter [=0.5/ot and corresponding 
with the diameter given by Cohn for the Micrococcus septicus, 
also with the micrococcus observed by myself in the form of 
septicaemia described in this report]. Each of these little 
particles is surrounded at a certain focus with a sort of aureole 
which corresponds, perhaps, to a material substance." (Note. 
— The possibility that this appearance is due to diffraction is 
considered, but Pasteur inclines to the opinion that in the case 
in question it is due to a mucous substance which surrounds 
the organism.) 

The foregoing descriptions answer as well for the micro- 
coccus observed by me as if they had been written especially 
for it, and it is unnecessary for me to say more at present in 
relation to the morphology of this organism, which apparently 
is identical with that of the Micrococcus septicus of Cohn, and 
with the organism found by Pasteur in the "new disease" 
described by him. Does it then follow that the organisms 
are identical, and that the phenomena related by Pasteur, as 
resulting from the subcutaneous injection of saliva from an 
infant dead of hydrophobia, and by myself, from saliva of a 
healthy adult, represent the same disease ? By no means. The 
man of science soon finds that things which look alike are not 
necessarily of the same kind. Thus of two transparent color- 
less fluids, one may be harmless water, and the other a cor- 
rosive acid; two embryos apparently alike, may develop the 
one into a man and the other into a monkey ; two seeds of the 
same size and general appearance, may produce the one cab- 
bage, the other a turnip, etc. 



82 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

The argument, then, that because a certain bacillus, or 
spirillum, or micrococcus, is morphologically identical \yith 
another, which is proved to be harmless as to its effects upon 
arl animal organism, consequently it must be harmless, has no 
support from analogy any more than it has from experiment. 
And it is high time that naturalists and physicians should open 
their eyes to the fallacy of such an argument, as it not only 
has a tendency to close the minds of those who receive it to 
the reception of demonstrated truth, but also acts, to some 
extent, as a bar to the progress of science in this direction. 
The argument is : Bacteria are found everywhere, we eat them, 
we drink them, we draw their germs into our lungs at each 
inspiration and without apparent injury. They are evidently 
harmless. Your spirillum of relapsing fever does not differ 
(the morphological resemblance is admitted) from a harmless 
spirillum frequently found in the human mouth ; your Bacillus 
anthracis does not differ from Bacillus suhtilis, etc. The 
answer is plain. The fact that there are harmless bacteria does 
not disprove the possibility of pathogenic bacteria ; the fact that 
two things look alike does not prove that they are alike ; experi- 
ment proves conclusively that the phenomena of anthrax are 
due to the presence and multiplication in the body of the 
affected animal of the Bacillus anthracis, and that in the fatal 
form of septicaemia described in this report, the efficient cause 
of the morbid phenomena, and of death is the minute micro- 
coccus described. 

Doubtless, harmless micrococci abound. Pasteur finds no 
difference, morphologically, between the organism which pro- 
duces the **new disease" described by him and that which pro- 
duces the cholera dcs ponies. He says : "By the form which it 
has in the blood the organism resembles the microbe of chicken 
cholera, but it differs completely in its functions. We may 
inoculate fowls with it without their experiencing the slightest 
ill effect." (The same is true of the organism producing the 
form of septicaemia described in this paper.) 

"In the form of chaplets it resembles greatly many other 
organisms which I have often obsers-ed," etc. 

It will have been noticed from the account already given that 
the fatal disease in rabbits obser\'ed by me and resulting from 
the subcutaneous injection of my own saliva resembles in many 
particulars the disease described by Pasteur as new, resulting 
from the subcutaneous injection of the saliva of a child dead 
with hydrophobia. Another point of resemblance is the fact 
that the saliva of one of my rabbits, recently dead, has the 
same virulence as the blood and serum from connective tissue. 
A serous liquid, which in some instances escapes from the 
bowels shortly before or after death, also contains the micro- 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 83 

coccus in abundance and possesses like virulence. All of these 
points of resemblance form a strong probability in favor of the 
identity of the two diseases, but I am not prepared to pro- 
nounce a positive opinion upon this point, especially since 
Pasteur, who had previously given much attention to the study 
of septicaemia, pronounces the disease observed by him to be 
new, while I see no reason, at present, for supposing that the 
disease observed by me differs essentially from the experi- 
mental septicaemia produced by Davaine, Koch and other 
investigators, who, however, obtained their first supply of 
septic organisms from a different source. 

In the light of what we already know, it seems very probable 
that puerperal fever, hospital gangrene, and the various forms 
of septicaemia known to physicians and surgeons result from 
the development of pathogenic varieties of harmless and 
widely-distributed species of micrococci, as the result of espe- 
cially favorable surroundings, such as are found in the lochial 
discharges of a puerperal woman or in the secretions from the 
surface of wounds in a crowded and illy-ventilated hospital 
ward. 

Just as differences in resisting power to experimental 
septicaemia are exhibited by different species of animals, so 
doubtless individual differences exist in man, especially as the 
result of lowered vitahty; and this want of resisting power, 
from whatever cause resulting, must be counted as one of the 
conditions favorable to the development and propagation of 
a pathogenic bacterium. Thus we find that in experimental 
septicaemia the micrococcus does not invade the blood until 
the vital powers are at a low ebb, and death is near at hand.^ 

In the dog the vital resistance is competent to withstand the 
assaults of a micrococcus — injected subcutaneously — having the 
potency of those found in my saliva, and the result of such an 
injection is simply a circumscribed abcess. But the increased 
power (which is perhaps simply a more vigorous and rapid 
development) gained by circulation in the body of the rabbit, 
enables these organisms to overcome the resistance of the dog, 
and a diffuse cellulitis results of fatal character. 

The fact, observed by myself, that during the summer 
months the mud in the gutters of New Orleans possesses an 
extraordinary degree of virulence ^ shows that pathogenic 

1. By virtue of some property or mechanism at present unknown, 
blood, which external to the body is a favorable medium for the devel- 
opment of many species of bacteria, resists their entrance or gets rid 
of them when they effect an entrance, e. g., by injection, so long as it 
is circulating in the vessels of a healthy individual. 

2. There is no reason to suppose that this is peculiar to New Orleans, 
but I have not yet had the opportunity to extend my experiments to 
other places. 



84 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

varieties of bacteria are not alone bred in the bodies of living 
animals. The more I study this subject the more probable it 
seems to me that in this direction lies the explanation of many 
problems which have puzzled epidemiologists, and that the 
sanitarians are right in fighting against filth as a prime factor 
in the production of epidemics — a factor of which the role is 
easily understood, if this view is correct. 

The presence of septic organisms, possessing different de- 
grees of virulence depending upon the abundance and kind of 
pabulum furnished them and upon meteorological conditions 
more or less favorable, constitutes, in my opinion, the epidemic 
constitution of the atmosphere, which wise men were wont to 
speak of not many years ago as a cloak for ignorance. It must 
be remembered that the gutter mud of to-day, with its deadly 
septic organisms, is the dust of to-morrow, which in respiration 
is deposited upon the mucous membrane of the respiratory 
passages of those who breathe the air loaded with it. Whether 
the peculiar poison of each specific disease is of the same 
nature or not — a question which can only be settled by 
extended experimental investigations in the future — it is alto- 
gether probable that this factor often gives a malignant char- 
acter to epidemics of diseases which uncomplicated, are of a 
comparatively trivial nature. 

In July, 1885, Dr. Sternberg published a paper entitled "The 
Pneumonia-Coccus of Friedlander {Micrococcus Pasteuri, 
Sternberg).^ In this paper he shows that the pneumococcus of 
Friedlander is identical with the organism discovered by 
Pasteur and himself. The paper begins as follows: 

In this paper I desire to call attention to the so-called 
pneumonia-coccus of Friedlander, which I shall take the liberty 
of naming Micrococcus Pasteuri. My right to name the micro- 
coccus discovered by Friedlander in the exudate of croupous- 
pneumonia must depend upon my ability to make good the 
claim which I here state, viz. : that the pneumonia-coccus of 
this author is, in fact, identical specifically with a micrococcus 
previously described by me, which is found in normal human 
saliva, and with that found by Pasteur in the blood of rabbits 
which had been injected with the saliva of a child who had 
died of hydrophobia in one of the Paris hospitals. 

In attaching to this micrococcus the name of the illustrious 
French chemist I have no desire to perpetuate the memor)^ of 
the mistake he made in supposing for a time that it was the 
germ of hydrophobia. Having found that this was a m:>take, 

1. Am. J. Med. Sc. 90:106 (July) 1885. 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 85 

he did not fail to correct it; so no doubt Koch will do if he 
has made a mistake in announcing his "comma-bacillus" as the 
much sought cholera-germ. It is easy to make mistakes in this 
field of investigation; easier, perhaps, than to acknowledge 
them. And believing, as I do, in human fallibility, I have no 
hesitation in questioning the conclusions of the most illustrious 
workers in the field of micro-biology, if they are iti conflict 
with my own observations. On the other hand, if, upon fuller 
investigation, I am convinced that I have been mistaken in 
regard to this or any other question, I shall feel no hesitation 
in following the example of Pasteur in making a public 
acknowledgment of my error. At all events the name will 
stand for the oval micrococcus which produces a fatal form of 
septicaemia in rabbits, and which is constantly present in my 
buccal secretions. 

If I am right as to the specific identity of this micrococcus 
with the micrococcus discovered by Friedlander in the exudate 
of croupous-pneumonia, it does not follow that Friedlander is 
wrong in assigning to this organism an etiological role in con- 
nection with this disease. This is a question which I will not 
discuss at the present time, as I hope to make it the subject of 
experimental inquiry at as early a date as practicable. 

In giving a specific name to a micrococcus which I first 
observed nearly five years ago, and which I have repeatedly 
studied by means of oil immersion objectives — the one- 
eighteenth and one-twelfth inch hom. im. of Zeiss — by the most 
approved methods of staining and cultivation, and by numerous 
experiments upon animals, I can scarcely be accused of undue 
haste. And, inasmuch as this is the first micro-organism which 
I have attempted to name among the multitude which I have 
encountered in the course of my bacteriological studies, I may 
be acquitted of any special proclivity for conferring names 
upon supposed "new species," as is the fashion among amateur 
naturalists. 

I have heretofore spoken of this particular micrococcus as 
"the micrococcus of sep)ticaemia in the rabbit"; but, as there 
is more than one form of infectious septicaemia in the rabbit 
known to us by laboratory experiments, each due to a differ- 
ent micro-organism, this term is evidently inexact. Moreover, 
it would indicate that this particular micrococcus finds its 
usual habitat in the blood of rabbits affected with the form of 
septicaemia to which it gives rise. This is by no means true, 
for the organism in question is widely distributed, and it is 
only by inoculation experiments that the fact has been 
developed that it is a pathogenic species, as far as rabbits are 
concerned. I made this discovery in the summer of 1880, quite 
accidentally, having injected a little of my own saliva under 



86 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

the skin of a rabbit, as a comparative experiment, to ascertain 
whether a fluid supposed to be innocuous would give rise to 
any febrile disturbance. The promptly fatal result, and the 
presence of a multitude of oval organisms in the blood, at 
once aroused my attention, and, as is well known, I have since 
made numerous additional experiments, at different times and 
places, and always with the same result: The animals die in 
from 24 to 48 hours; they present the same pathological 
appearances; their blood is infectious in the smallest quantity, 
and it contains vast numbers of the oval micrococcus which I 
now name Micrococcus Pasteuri. 

Upon making sections of the tissues of a rabbit dead from 
this form of septicaemia, the oval micrococci are found in great 
numbers in the capillaries of the various organs, as I am pre- 
pared to show. Repeatedly I have produced this infectious 
disease in rabbits by injecting beneath their skin pure cultures 
of the micrococcus in question. 

All this is a matter of record, and the experimental proof is 
as definite as is that offered by Koch in regard to the fatal 
form of septicaemia in mice, which he has so well studied, or 
in the better known infectious disease, anthrax. Yet, in spite 
of my detailed record of experiments made, of my frequent 
repetition of these experiments, and of my photographs from 
nature which illustrate my first paper, published in 1881, and 
the article upon septicaemia in rabbits in my book, which was 
published more than a year ago, I find in Klein's recent work 
the following reference to my experiments: 

"That saliva of the healthy dog, and of man inoculated sub- 
cutaneously into rabbits sometimes produces death in these 
animals (Senator) had entirely escaped his (Pasteur's) notice. 
Sternberg has proved this in an extensive series of experiments. 
His own saliva proved sometimes fatal to rabbits. They die 
of what is called septicaemia, and Sternberg thinks it due to 
the micrococci; but this is not to be considered as proved." 

I claim that the fact is proved, and that the experimental 
evidence of this has been upon record for nearly four years, 
and I am prepared to repeat the experiments, and to demon- 
strate that such is the case. I look upon the fact that an infec- 
tious disease of a lower animal may be induced by inoculation 
with a micro-organism which is habitually found as a harm- 
less parasite in the mouth of man, as something more than a 
curious circumstance to be recorded and forgotten, and as hav- 
ing an important bearing upon vital questions relating to the 
genesis of "disease germs," questions which are now largely 
occupying the attention of leading pathologists in all parts of 
the world. But in the discussion of these questions I must 
insist that experimental evidence obtained on this side of the 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 87 

Atlantic is entitled to just as much consideration as that which 
comes to us from across the water. And, unless the truth of 
my detailed account of experiments made is impeached, I can 
only account for such a verdict as that which Klein has 
recorded in the sentence above quoted, upon the supposition 
that he has not read the evidence presented, or that he is con- 
trolled by a geographical bias, unworthy a true student of 
science, in estimating its value. 

In connection with this organism an event which occurred 
in Berlin in 1886 will be related later. (See page 93.) 

FORT MASON 

Aug. 10, 1881, Dr. Sternberg was ordered to report again 
for army duty at San Francisco. On arriving there he was 
assigned to Fort Mason, a beautiful post, where the General in 
command of the Department of California, one company of 
artillery, with two company officers and staff officers, including 
one surgeon, constituted the garrison. Our quarters were in 
a charming little house on the side of a high bluff, overlooking 
the bay, while the post hospital, clean and bright, was just out- 
side the garrison. 

After our arrival at Fort Mason, Dr. Sternberg was not long 
in establishing at his own expense a laboratory for biological 
research. It was here in 1881 that he demonstrated and photo- 
graphed the tubercle bacillus, discovered by Professor Koch 
earlier in the same year. I am informed on good authority 
that this was the first demonstration of the organism in 
America. The order relieving him from his experimental work 
in the East might have been so discouraging for many men 
that they would have given up the self-imposed task, but such 
was not the case with hirn. Every day after he had completed 
his rounds of post duties he worked faithfully in his study, 
completing experiments already begun and preparing to work 
intelligently on the subject of preventable diseases. 

While our station at Fort Mason could not be excelled any- 
where for comfort and social advantages. Dr. Sternberg longed 
for a more scientific atmosphere, and Nov. 27, 1883, addressed 
the following letter to Surg.-Gen. Robert Murray, U. S. Army: 

General: — I would respectfully ask your attention to the 
following statements relating to my future career as a Medical 
Officer of the U. S. Army. It is my earnest desire to devote 



88 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

my time to scientific and literary work and especially to micro- 
scopical and experimental studies relating to the etiology of 
infectious diseases. Since leaving the National Board of 
Health, Aug. 23, 1881, I have been obliged to prosecute my 
experimental work at my own expense, and to purchase 
expensive microscopical apparatus, in order not to drop out of 
sight as an investigator, in a field in which I have gained some 
distinction. And this notwithstanding the fact that apparatus 
of the same kind, purchased with government money, has been 
for two years lying idle at the Army Medical Museum and 
also in the hands of the National Board of Health. 

With the experience and special training I now have and 
with proper facilities I think I could cultivate this field still 
more successfully in future and I am sanguine that I could 
by such labors accomplish more for humanity, for the credit 
of the Medical Corps of the Army, and for my own reputa- 
tion than by continuing to perform the routine duties of an 
Army Surgeon. But I am satisfied that it is useless to con- 
tinue my attempts in this direction, at a post remote from the 
centers of learning and without encouragement and material 
assistance from some source. 

I find also that I labor under great difficulties in prosecuting 
the literary work which I have undertaken on account of my 
remoteness from libraries and from my publishers. I have 
recently been obliged to spend much time and money in a 
trip from San Francisco to Washington made mainly for the 
purpose of availing myself for a few days of the use of the 
Library of the Surgeon General's Office. I would further 
respectfully represent that my Army service has been mostly 
at remote posts ; that I have seen my full share of epidemics 
and Indian wars ; that I have had but one brief tour of duty in 
the East (1870-1872) ; that this was broken by three changes 
of station and an epidemic of yellow fever, that when I 
accepted a detail as a member of the Havana Yellow Fever 
Commission I made considerable sacrifices, and enlisted in 
the cause of scientific research ; that my tour of duty with the 
National Board of Health ought not to have been counted 
against me as Eastern service as I spent the first summer in 
Havana and the second in New Orleans and I was only in 
Washington during the winter months for the purpose of writ- 
ing my reports and recuperating my strength. 

I would further respectfully represent that two positions, 
which I have felt that I had some claim to, have been filled 
by the detail of officers junior to me in the sen-ice and both 
of whom had just served a tour of duty in the East. I refer 
to the position of Curator of the Army Medical Museum and 
to that of member of the National Board of Health. Either 
of these details would enable me to pursue my microscopical 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 89 

and experimental studies and to continue my literary labors 
under favorable circumstances. 

I take the liberty of transmitting herewith a partial list of 
my contributions to etiology, taken from the bibliography of 
my work on "Bacteria" to be published shortly. Also a few 
letters and press notices selected from a large number received 
which indicate that my efforts to accomplish something for the 
advancement of science and creditable to the Medical Corps 
of the Army have not been entirely unsuccessful. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient -servant, 

Geo. M. Sternberg, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. Army. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE EAST 

An order came in April, 1884, transferring Dr. Sternberg 
to the Department of the East and we were again obliged to 
dispose of our household belongings at the auction rooms. The 
government at that time supplied to officers nothing in the way 
of furniture ; the Quartermaster loaned us a kitchen range and 
some cooking utensils, for the return of which we were 
responsible. Crossing the continent was no longer a novelty 
to us, but we took considerable interest in drawing comparisons 
between conditions on this trip and on those we had previously 
made. The railroad had made great strides and we found 
the new dining car service a great improvement on the eating 
stations of earlier days. Many little towns were springing up 
near the railroad, marking the advance of civilization across 
the plains. The immense herds of wild animals that formerly 
roamed at will were almost annihilated. Whereas in Western 
Kansas, in the Indian Territory and elsewhere, there were in 
the sixties such great numbers of buffalo that they blocked 
the railroads, we now saw only small bands. Immense num- 
bers had been slaughtered for the skins alone, or for the 
tongues, as these were considered a great delicacy. The work 
of extermination had been carried forward on such a scale 
that men had acquired wealth by gathering the bones and horns 
from the plains for shipment to the East. The buffalo, self- 
supporting on the grass of the unclaimed prairie, deserved 
a better fate, more especially as the red man drew largely 
upon him for subsistence. I recalled the buffalo hunts of the 
past, in one of which I had participated. 



90 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

We marveled, too, at the disappearance of the bands of 
antelope which formerly were to be seen in great numbers. 
These were for me very interesting animals, very graceful and 
beautiful. They had once served as pets at frontier cabins 
and could often be found in small numbers grazing in out of 
the way places. I have heard men who have hunted the ante- 
lope say that they are very inquisitive and guileless and could 
be induced to come quite near to a sportsman by the **wig- 
wagging" of a pocket handkerchief. When plentiful they 
were much hunted because of their delicious meat, by many 
considered the finest game of the plains. 

Space will not permit me to dwell on these scenes, but I 
cannot resist relating a very touching incident of our journey. 
One night near midnight as we were rushing along over the 
mountains on the Central Pacific R. R. a porter came with a 
gentleman from another car to speak to Dr. Sternberg. The 
gentleman apologized, saying his wife was very ill, and would 
the doctor please see her. Dr. Sternberg found her in a very 
advanced stage of tuberculosis and suflfering from uncertain 
heart action caused by the mountain altitude. She begged and 
implored him not to let her die, that she must live to see her 
children once more. Dr. Sternberg was naturally greatly 
touched by her appeal, and he stayed some time with her to 
observe the effect of the medicine he had administered and to 
encourage her. When we arrived at the station where we 
were obliged to change cars, the invalid chair had failed to 
arrive for her, although it had been telegraphed for some time 
before. She became very much excited and said: *Tf I miss 
a train I will never see my home and my darling children." 
Dr. Sternberg said : "You shall not miss a train ; I will have 
the men carry you in a blanket as we sometimes do wounded 
soldiers on the battle field." This they finally had to do, as 
the chair did not arrive when the train was ready to start. 
We took another route from that station, but the husband 
wrote us later that she reached home just in time to see her 
children and bid them good-bye. 

ATTENDING SURGEON AT BALTIMORE 

Shortly after our arrival in the East, Dr. Sternberg was 
detailed as Attending Surgeon and Examiner of Recruits at 
Baltimore. A journey of one hour from Washington brought 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 91 

us to that city. We rented a prettily furnished house and as 
I was fortunate in my domestic arrangements our new home 
was most enjoyable. Baltimore is a charming city with excel- 
lent libraries, good universities, and a fine school for training 
in classical music (Peabody Institute), which has served to 
educate the citizens generally in a demand for a higher class 
of music. Science is well supported. The Johns Hopkins 
University is a mecca for students and advanced workers in 
the sciences, higher education, and medicine. 

Dr. Sternberg was pleased with his detail, since it gave him 
opportunity to do experimental work for the National Board 
of Health. His orders from the Surgeon-General's Office 
enabled him to do his Army duty in a satisfactory manner, 
and still have time and energy to devote to research. I went 
frequently to the laboratory ; he had little or no assistance, and 
I tried to make myself useful, for with a little instruction I 
had learned to make bouillon and other bacteriologic media. 

As a source of relaxation we attended (in the late afternoons) 
a course of lectures on French literature by Professor Rabillion, 
at the Johns Hopkins University. This gifted man made his 
subjects so entertaining and instructive that we always retained 
our interest in the French language and literature. I had also 
accepted an invitation to join a class for the study of the his- 
tory of art, the principal organizer and instructor of which 
was Miss Jane Addams, now known throughout our continent 
for sociologic work as exemplified at Hull House, Chicago. 

In 1885 Dr. Sternberg was sent as a delegate from the 
United States to the International Sanitary Conference in 
Rome. Friendships were there formed that continued through 
years of correspondence, and were revived at subsequent inter- 
national scientific congresses. He translated the transactions, 
as they were in French. He was made an honorary member 
of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Rome and a certificate 
was transmitted to him throug;h the Secretary of War, William 
C. Endicott. 

After his return from the conference in March, 1885, Dr. 
Sternberg demonstrated for the first time in America at the 
Johns Hopkins University the living motile Plasmodium of 
malaria discovered by Laveran in 1880. The demonstra- 
tion was made from freshly drawn blood of a patient suffering 



92 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

from malarial fever and the ameboid movements of the Plas- 
modium in the interior of the red blood corpuscles were plainly 
visible. In the next year he introduced the bacillus of typhoid 
fever to the American medical profession in a paper presented 
to the Association of American Physicians. Every day of his 
life at this time was full of scientific work and his brain was 
very active planning new experiments. He was still engaged 
on his study of chemical and physical disinfectants. In 
addition he did a vast amount of professional reading, and 
kept posted on the best French, German and English medical 
and scientific literature. He was a frequent contributor to 
medical and scientific periodicals, and some one has truly said 
of him that "his writings were pen pictures of his results in 
his laboratory." 

In 1886 we made a trip to Berlin in order that Dr. Stem- 
berg might have the opportunity of knowing personally 
Professor Koch and perhaps also do some work in Koch's 
laboratory. On our arrival there we stopped at "The Kaiser- 
hof," a fine large hotel. When the United States consul 
returned Dr. Sternberg's visit, he was most cordial in his greet- 
ing and showed interest in the purpose of our coming. But 
before leaving he advised us not to remain long at this hotel : 
"You will be shoveling money out of the window and you can 
be more comfortable and it will be more convenient for Mrs. 
Sternberg to be at a Pension." He gave us the address of the 
widow of an army officer who took a few persons into her 
pleasant home. We found the house delightfully situated, and 
were pleased with the refined manner of tlie Frau. The rooms 
were so attractive that we arranged at once to board with 
her, a most fortunate decision for me. 

As soon as we had gone through the formality of leaving 
cards, our friends and new acquaintances began to call, Pro- 
fessor Koch and his first assistant among the earliest. While 
Dr. Sternberg was working hard in a laboratory', I visited the 
historic spots and the picture galleries, in fact, everj-thing that 
made Berlin so attractive. One day about 11 a. m., as we 
were on the street on which the imperial palace fronts, we saw 
a very large crowd of people gazing in one direction. They 
were looking on the distinguished old Emperor W^illiam. who 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 93 

appeared every day at a fixed hour at a certain window to 
show his interest in the devoted people. 

It was during this visit to Berlin that an event occurred to 
which I have already alluded in connection with the micro- 
coccus of croupous pneumonia. While working in Koch's 
laboratory, this distinguished investigator naturally referred 
to Dr. Sternberg's discovery and the fact that he had first 
found the organism in his own mouth. Dr. Sternberg vol- 
unteered to demonstrate the germ from his saliva during his 
stay. On his return from the laboratory he was somewhat 
absorbed in thought and when, early the next morning, I 
asked him the reason for his anxious expression, he confided 
to me the promise made on the preceding day. "How dread- 
fully I would feel," he said, "if I have lost that germ in the 
meantime from my mouth and could not demonstrate a thing 
that I have written and talked so much about." But when 
the demonstration was attempted in Dr. Koch's laboratory it 
was most satisfactory, and a clean proof was recorded in favor 
of Dr. Sternberg's previous claims. 

LOME PRIZE AWARD 

Returning from this trip to Europe, Dr. Sternberg was 
informed by the health officer of the port of New York that 
he had won the "Lomb Prize" for his long and faithful work 
on the practical value of disinfectants. These experiments, 
begun in 1878 at Walla Walla, Washington, were continued 
in Washington, D. C, and were completed in the laboratory of 
the Johns Hopkins University. They were the culmination of 
studies undertaken as chairman of a committee of the Amer- 
ican Public Health Association which had made an appropria- 
tion for such investigations. The results were published in 
full in the transactions of the Association for 1888, and at the 
request of Mr. Lomb, the essay was revised in 1889. It was 
subsequently translated into several foreign languages. The 
scientific standardization of disinfectants and practical meas- 
ures of disinfection in this country and abroad were largely 
based on the results obtained in these investigations. 



CHAPTER NINE 
YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 

Dr. Sternberg learned that he was expected to do more 
experimental work in South American countries for the Fed- 
eral Government and in the early part of 1887 we gave up our 
Baltimore house in preparation for other duties. Unfortun- 
ately, in my judgment at least, the prospective scientific expedi- 
tion to Brazil and Mexico had for its purpose the verifica- 
tion or refutation of certain alleged discoveries relating to 
yellow fever. Had it not been for the many demands on Dr. 
Sternberg to investigate the claims of others to scientific dis- 
coveries, he would have been able to concentrate his ability 
and energy in developing more important work of his own. 
However, these control experiments were quite important in 
blazing the trail for future investigations, and as he was at 
that time better prepared than others for this work, he will- 
ingly undertook the task. 

At the annual meeting of the American Public Health Asso- 
ciation in Washington in 1885, resolutions had been adopted 
requesting the appointment by the Federal Government of a 
commission for the investigation of the merits of certain 
protective inoculations against yellow fever, then practiced in 
Brazil and Mexico. The appropriation measures failed in 
Congress until 1887, when, through exertions of Hon. H. C. 
Davis of Massachusetts and the Louisiana delegation, a fund 
was made available. The President designated Dr. Sternberg 
to carry out the investigations. By special order of the War 
Department he was directed to report to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, through whom he received from President Cleve- 
land detailed instructions dated April 28, 1887. 

Sir : — Referring to the Act providing for . . . investi- 
gating the merits of the methods practiced in Mexico and 
Brazil for preventing yellow fever by inoculation. You are 
hereby directed under the authority of said act to proceed to 
Rio de Janeiro, where you will collate the documentary' and 
other evidence of the experiments of Dr. Freire. 

First. The source from which the culture supply is secured, 
which will involve : 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 95 

(a) The examination of the alleged germ as shown you by 
those engaged in the business of inoculation. 

(b) Verification of the cultivation and process of attenua- 
tion adopted. 

Second. The methods of the inoculation which you will see 
verified, if possible, on actual cases. 

Third. You will report your opinion on the results attained 
by the process after a careful examination of the cases which 
have previously been subjected to inoculation. In forming 
your judgment of these results you will take into considera- 
tion the following points: 

(a) Personal characteristics of the patient, age, race, nativ- 
ity, sex, previous susceptibility. 

(b) The period since last inoculated, number of times 
exposed to contagion. 

Having completed this study, you will then proceed to 
Mexico by the shortest and most practical route and investi- 
gate in the same manner the method of inoculation practiced 
by Dr. Carmona y Valle, and the same method will be observed 
in conducting the investigation. 

While your attention is directed specifically to these points 
and details with the expectation that they will be carefully 
kept in view and adopted for your guidance, they are not 
intended to exclude such additional methods and means of 
investigation as your judgment may approve in the thorough 
and careful accomplishment of the purpose of your mission. 

In order that every facility may be afforded you for the 
prosecution of the work, you will make known your errand to 
the United States Minister at Rio de Janeiro and to the United 
States Minister at the City of Mexico, respectively, and request 
them to use their influence in procuring such access to the 
hospitals, and such other sources of information as you may 
desire. 

It is expected that your investigation will be completed by 
the 1st of October. ' q^^^^^ Cleveland.. 

In connection with these orders it may be well to state that 
Dr. Sternberg was not consulted in reference to the date of 
departure, or as to the time he might consider necessary to 
complete the investigations with which he had been charged. 
For the information of those who knew him not I beg leave 
to quote from the preface of his report ^ made in 1889 : 

1. Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine 
Hospitar Service, Washington, 1889, p. 139. 



96 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Having for some years been deeply interested in questions 
relating to the etiology and prophylaxis of infectious diseases, 
and particularly of yellow fever, the writer was glad to under- 
take the investigation to which the following report relates, 
especially as it would give him a long-sought opportunity to 
supplement observations made in Havana in 1879, by addi- 
tional experiments made by methods which have been per- 
fected since that date. It must be admitted that the pub- 
lished works of Dr. Freire in Brazil and of Dr. Carmona y 
Valle in Mexico did not impress him with much confidence 
as regards the scientific value of the alleged discoveries made 
by these gentlemen ; but while it was evident from their writings 
that they had fallen into gross errors, the possibility remained 
that there was a germ of truth in the background. The pub- 
lished statistics of Dr. Freire. especially, were so favorable 
ta his claim that he had discovered a method of prophylaxis 
by inoculation that a critical examination upon the spot was 
evidently the only way of ascertaining the exact value which 
should l>e accorded to these statistics. 

It is always an ungrateful task to criticise the work of those 
who have earnestly and conscientiously sought to elucidate 
unsettled questions in science, and especially so when the object 
in view is the amelioration of human suffering. It would have 
been extremely gratifying to the writer if he had been able 
to announce as a result of his investigations that the specific 
germ of yellow fever has been discovered in Brazil, or in 
Mexico, and that a reliable method of prophylaxis by inocula- 
tion is now successfully practiced in one or the other of these 
countries. Such a report would be easily written and gladly 
received by the medical profession in this country and in 
Europe, but unfortunately I am unable to make a favorable 
report, and to sustain a negative and show wherein these 
gentlemen above named have in my opinion been mistaken, 
calls for an elaborate and extended statement of facts, which 
I am aware will have but little interest for a majority of the 
profession; but those who do take the pains to read it will 
find, I trust, that I have fully sustained the position taken, 
and for those who in future may undertake to elucidate the 
unsettled questions relating to the etioIog>' of yellow fever, 
the report will be found. I believe, a useful beacon, showing 
the rocks and quicksands in the way of investigators in this 
field of science, and the absolute importance of proper train- 
ing and familiarity with modem methods, and with the results 
of the most recent researches, before entering upon a path in 
which so many pioneers have g^nc astray. 



I 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 97 

JOURNEY TO RIO DE JANEIRO 

In compliance with instructions we sailed for Rio de Janiero 
on the S.S. Alliance, May 4, 1887. Dr. Sternberg had 
equipped himself with a complete field outfit for bacteriologic 
investigation. The first port we made was St. Thomas, the 
island recently purchased from Denmark. Here our ship was 
coaled by negro women, who chanted a weird song while per- 
forming their arduous labor. The passengers amused them- 
selves by tossing small silver coins into the water, for the 
benefit of negro boys who would dive in the deep clear water 
and bob up again with the coin between their ivory teeth. On 
the shore, a cemetery marked the spot where lay buried a num- 
ber of Moravian ministers, good men who had come in response 
to the call to preach the doctrine of love and peace. All had 
succumbed to yellow fever and the white marble slabs told 
their silent story to those who visited this lonely island. We 
drove over a good shell road into the country and we there 
gathered from a tree our first green calabash. Later we 
became very familiar with this member of the gourd family, 
so useful to tropical residents for various household con- 
tainers. 

South from St. Thomas we sailed near enough to get a view 
of several of the neighboring islands, and passed some drifting 
wreckage. Our next port was Barbadoes, an inviting island, 
the center of a great sugar industry. We here became 
acquainted with some beautiful varieties of tropical trees, 
especially the bread-fruit, which plays quite a part in the sus- 
tenance of residents of the tropics. We were oflfered delicious 
preserves made from the tamarind and the orange and other 
tropical fruits, and on every street we could purchase quan- 
tities of highly perfumed flowers, for many species which are 
cultivated in our Southern states here grow in profusion. It 
was to us a novelty to hear the Negroes speak English with the 
English accent, a natural occurrence to be sure, since this island 
is one of the British possessions. 

After a long journey, we were greatly relieved when we 
sighted the island at the mouth of the Amazon River. It was 
some time before we could realize we were sailing on a river, 
for the banks of the Amazon were so distant we could not 
observe even the line of demarcation. The Alliance was on 



98 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

her way to the city of Para, more than 100 miles from the 
mouth of the river. Dr. Sternberg informed me that I could 
not go on shore in port, as that city was known to be badly 
infected at all seasons with yellow fever. Others were also 
advised that it would be safer for them to remain on the ship, 
and nearly all the first cabin passengers did so. Two hand- 
some German women in the second cabin went for a stroll 
through the city and returned quite early. Before we reached 
Rio both were attacked with a severe form of yellow fever. 
The ship's surgeon said if they had gone on shore to contract 
the disease purposely it could not have developed more 
promptly. 

The agents of the ship owners invited a limited number of 
the cabin passengers, including Dr. Sternberg and myself for 
a cruise on the Amazon, and an inspection of a rubber depot. 
We sailed into a bayou and were invited to go ashore to visit a 
plantation where the blacks were at work gathering rubber 
juice. A few steps brought us immediately into an almost 
impenetrable thicket of rubber trees, with vines growing 
rampant over every shrub and small tree. The black men 
preceded with machetes and cut away the vines and shrubs 
to make a path. The process of gathering caoutchouc is an 
interesting one. With a sharp knife, unlike any I had ever 
seen, swinging from a wooden handle, an incision is quickly 
made through the bark of the tree. A small day cup is made 
to adhere to the tree just under the incision by a piece of wet, 
sticky clay, in order to collect the juice. A tree that gives a run 
of a gill a day is considered a good producer. The flow of the 
rubber ceases by 11 o'clock in the morning, but the trees are 
repeatedly tapped on successive days. The juice, which in its 
natural state resembles condensed milk, is collected in a large 
calabash and is taken to a cabin for inspissation. A large fire- 
place and hearth, a wooden paddle with a long handle, and a 
terra cotta jar from which the bottom has previously been 
broken, form the equipment for this process. A fire is made on 
the hearth with nuts gathered in the nearby forest. The long- 
necked jar is placed over the fire, the rubber is poured gently 
over the wooden paddle, which is constantly turned over the 
opening of the jar. On the paddle are coagulated and smoked 
remnants of the run of the dav before. The smoke from the 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 99 

nut-fire keeps the rubber from becoming acid, and the heat 
inspissates the juice. When the mass on the paddle amounts to 
about five pounds it is cut off in a round shape. It is now 
almost black from the smoking process, and is considered ready 
to send to market as caoutchouc. The estimated value of the 
export of this product at that date was given as five millions 
of dollars per annum. 

Our ship carried the mail and hence we were obliged to 
communicate with many of the cities on our way down the 
coast of Brazil. Our next stop was at Ceara, the land of dis- 
tressing droughts. In this region maneoca is largely cultivated 
and much used for sustenance. Pemambuco, which had been 
developed under the original Dutch occupation, was chiefly of 
interest because of its remarkable breakwater by which 
engineers had secured a permanent harbor. Pernambuco and 
Bahia are sister capitals of old Brazil, and both are rich in 
beautiful well shaded streets and parks. 

At Bahia a steep incline leads from the harbor to the city 
proper. I was not aware that a large elevator is provided to 
lift the passengers to the upper level, and so I missed a visit 
to this city. For about 200 years Bahia was the seat of the 
colonial government, and with proper management it should 
take a prominent place among the cities of the South. It is 
the original home of the seedless orange, and one finds here 
rare fruits not seen anywhere else in the world, for they are 
too delicate when ripe to bear shipping. One of our fellow 
passengers was a wealthy planter from one of the southern 
provinces of Brazil. He had seen much of his own country, 
and Dr. Sternberg found him interesting and well informed. 
He gave us information in regard to very many local situa- 
tions, which helped us to gain a knowledge of the country and 
the people. But, after all, our main interest was in reaching 
Rio, and Dr. Sternberg was growing somewhat nervous for 
fear the two cases of yellow fever on board might cause the 
ship to be quarantined. This would have been a catastrophe 
as the time specified for his investigation was very limited. 
Much to our surprise, when we reached Rio de Janeiro the two 
German women walked with others off the ship. Dr. Stern- 



100 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

berg was fearful they would have a relapse, but we afterward 
learned that they remained several days in a boarding house in 
Rio awaiting the ship sailing for Buenos Aires. 

Rio has a magnificent natural harbor in a protected bay. At 
the entrance of this wonderful bay, the picturesque column of 
granite known as the "sugarloaf" is seen towering above the 
immediate surroundings. On the opposite side in the distance, 
the "Organ Mountains," sometimes called the "Fingers of 
God," stand out in bold relief. These mountains consist of a 
series of steep sharp peaks suggesting the pipes of an organ, 
from which the name is derived. It is claimed that there is 
but one other harbor in the world so large as this, and that is at 
Sidney, New South Wales. In our time, it was currently said 
that all the war ships of the world could find shelter in the 
harbor of Rio. 

On the following day. Dr. Sternberg presented his creden- 
tials to Hon. Thomas J. Jarvis, United States minister and 
envoy to Brazil. The minister was very courteous and subse- 
quently did ever>lhing in his power to further Dr. Sternberg's 
mission, and to make his stay agreeable. At the suggestion of 
Mr. Jar\'is, we arranged to live at the "Hotel Candido" where 
he and Mrs. Jarvis were then residing. Soon after our arrival, 
we were presented at the Court of the Princess Isabella 
(Regent of the Empire during the absence of her august 
father, Dom Pedro II). 

Dr. Goes, a gentleman who proved of the greatest assistance 
to Dr. Sternberg during his entire stay in Brazil, was residing 
with his family at our hotel. He was a man of culture and 
occupied an honored position in the medical profession of his 
country as a bacteriologist and a scientific investigator. In Dr. 
Sternberg's search for yellow fever patients, Dr. Goes accom- 
panied him to the hospitals and aided in collecting blood for 
microscopic examination and for experimentation. 

Dr. Sternberg was soon busily engaged in a laborator}*, doing 
heroic work in order to accomplish the object of his mission. 
He spent much time in company with some other professional 
men in visiting "Corticos" to investigate and verify statements 
in regard to successful inoculations against yellow fever by 
Dr. Domingos Freire. There was so much work to be done 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 101 

in solving the problems assigned to him that he worked daily 
under great pressure and returned home in the evenings per- 
ceptibly fatigued. 

We visited one morning the height known as "Santa 
Theresa," one of the most charming environs of Rio. We 
walked slowly up the height along a zigzag roadway, sheltered 
by tropical foliage, among which the vanilla vine and orchids 
were conspicuous. So dense was the shade that one felt barred 
from leaving the road and entering the almost impenetrable 
forest. To the right of the roadway is a conduit for water, 
which is brought down from innumerable springs high up on 
the mountain. This system of conservation was inaugurated 
by the Catholic priests in the early days of the city's history. 
There is a paved conduit for every spring, large or small ; the 
flow from some is so little as to be scarcely perceptible. As 
each spring increases the volume of water, the conduit becomes 
larger and larger, until a powerful, gurgling stream is rushing 
down the mountain through a covered, well ventilated stone 
aqueduct. This remarkable enterprise of man, vies with 
beautiful fern trees, orchids, and brilliant birds for the admira- 
tion of the tourist. The city proper is built on a narrow plain 
surrounded by many hills of granite ; nowhere near Rio is 
found a stretch of fields to indicate rural industry or agricul- 
tural development. The "Rue do Ovidor," a narrow street, but 
nevertheless very lively, is the busiest thoroughfare. Here one 
sees a constant stream of people, some to make purchases, 
others to admire the attractive shop windows and the beautiful 
toilets, so strikingly suggestive of Paris. There is a fashion- 
able restaurant nearby, where the professional men, the bank- 
ers and others go at 11 o'clock, or a little later, to enjoy the 
company of a friend and to take a small cup of black coffee. 
The Brazilians are a temperate people and know how to pre- 
serve health in a hot climate. One should see Rio from the 
summit of the "Corcovada," a mountain peak situated quite 
near the city. The ascent is made in comparative comfort by 
means of a cog railway, although the last few feet are very 
steep and require climbing to the summit. 

There is a delightful resort in a mountain valley to the 
north of Rio, called Petropolis, at that date the summer resi- 
dence of the Emperor. When yellow fever is epidemic in Rio, 



102 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

all those who can afford the expense go up to Petropolis to 
live in order to escape the danger. It appears that yellow fever 
does not flourish there and no local focus has ever been estab- 
lished. We now know that this is due to the absence of certain 
species of mosquitoes which are the real carriers of the disease. 
In the meantime, it appeared that the health authorities had 
ordered that Mrs. Sternberg and the little daughter of Dr. Goes 
were to be vaccinated. This was considered very necessary as 
smallpox was increasing rapidly in the city and since Dr. Stem- 
berg and Dr. Goes went every day to the smallpox hospital for 
pathologic material from yellow fever cases, we were con- 
sidered in special danger of contracting smallpox. Several 
days after our vaccination Dr. Goes came to our door quite 
early in the morning to ask about the condition of my \'accina- 
tion. His little daughter was very ill, and he expected to find 
me in the same state, but I had no symptoms of any unusual 
infection. 

DR. freire's micro-organism and inoculations 

Dr. Sternberg's scientific work while at Ric can be best 
related in his own words from the detailed report :* 

Dr. Domingos Freire whose claims I had come especially 
to investigate, was absent in Europe at the time of my arrival. 
He had gone to France sometime previously for the purpose of 
demonstrating his yellow fever germ {Cryptococcus xan- 
thogcnicus) and calling attention to his method of prophy- 
laxis. I was, however, immediately after my arrival, installed 
in his laboratory in the school of medicine by the director of 
the faculty, and received the assistance of his former assistants 
and pupils. Dr. Chapot Prevost and Dr. loaquim Caminhoa. 

At my first inter\'iew with the prime minister, the Baron 
Cotegepe, the name of Dr. GcSes was mentioned as one who 
enjoyed the confidence of the Government and who had given 
much attention to the study of the disease. I found Dr. Goes 
to be an extremely well-informed physician, a competent micro- 
scopist, and one of the pioneers in Brazil in bacteriological 
studies, especially with reference to yellow fever. He has been 
prudent enough not to publish prematurely the results of his 
investigations, but has made extended experimental studies, 
and has especially devoted himself to the microscopical exam- 

1. Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine Hos- 
pital Service, Washington, 1889, p. 14_\ 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 103 

ination of sections of the various organs, made secundum 
artem, and stained with various aniline dyes, a method which 
Dr. Freire seems to have neglected entirely, for neither he him- 
self after his arrival nor his pupils exhibited to me a single 
mounted preparation showing his germ in the tissues, or in 
blood obtained from the victims of yellow fever. Nor did I 
find in Dr. Freire's laboratory any pathological material pre- 
served in alcohol, for the purpose of histological study. On the 
contrary, I am indebted to Dr. Goes for material from quite a 
number of cases, in which he had himself made the autopsy. 

The yellow fever season was about at an end when I arrived 
in Brazil, but I was fortunate enough to find a few typical 
cases and to obtain specimens of blood drawn from the finger 
for study. But, although several of these cases terminated 
fatally, I did not succeed in obtaining an autopsy. 

This was due to the fact that as soon as the diagnosis of 
yellow fever was established in a case in the wards of the 
Misericordia Hospital, or elsewhere in the city, the patient 
was at once transferred to the smallpox hospital; the Jura- 
juba Hospital, designed especially for the reception and isola- 
tion of yellow fever patients, having been closed at the end of 
the epidemic season. I followed two cases to the smallpox 
hospital, and collected blood from the finger of one, whom I 
found in a ward with ten or fifteen variola patients, and who 
ejected "black vomit" in my presence. I was extremely anxious 
to obtain an autopsy in this case for the purpose of making 
cultures from blood obtained from the heart and from mate- 
rial from the interior of the organs in which the principal 
pathological lesions are found, but unfortunately did not 
receive notice of the man's death until he was already buried. 
This also occurred in another fatal case, notwithstanding the 
fact that I made every effort to receive immediate notice of the 
fatal termination of these cases, and in a fatal case at the 
Misericordia Hospital Dr. Goes and myself arrived just ten 
minutes too late for an autopsy, the body having already been 
sent to the cemetery, although the man had been dead but an 
hour. 

A considerable portion of my time in Rio was devoted to an 
investigation of the results of the protective inoculations prac- 
ticed by Dr. Freire in 1884, 1885 and 1886, and in personally 
visiting the corticos (tenement courts) in which a large propor- 
tion of the inoculations had been made. . 

Dr. Sternberg then devoted many pages (155-213) to a con- 
sideration of the evidence relating to the claims of Dr. 
Domingos Freire to discovery of the specific cause of yellow 



104 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

fever and of a method of preventing the disease by inoculation 
with an attenuated virus. In this analysis Dr. Sternberg dem- 
onstrated first, that the micrococcus presented by Dr. Freire as 
the yellow fever micro-organism did not correspond with 
descriptions of the Cryptococcus xanthogenicus; secondly that 
no such organism as he had described and was present in the 
cultures which he furnished to Dr. Sternberg was to be found 
in the blood or tissues of yellow fever patients. 

Having reviewed at length the claim of Dr. Domingos Freire 
to have discovered a specific yellow fever germ, and to have 
transmitted this disease to certain lower animals by inocula- 
tion, and having arrived at the conclusion that these claims 
are without scientific foundation, it may be thought that no 
further demonstration is required in order to show that his 
protective inoculations are without value. The inoculations 
practiced are said to have l^een made with cultures containing 
the "attenuated" microbe of yellow fever; a priori it would 
appear that if there has been no veritable discovery, and if 
there is no sufficient evidence that the culture used in making 
the inoculations contained the specific germ of yellow fever, no 
value can be attached to such inoculations. 

But in order to do full justice Dr. Sternberg first quoted all 
the evidence from Dr. Freire's published reports, then stated 
the results of his own investigations ; next he presented a thor- 
ough analysis of the statistical data in order to establish the 
real value of the protective inoculations against yellow fever; 
from all of which he was forced to the conclusion that "there 
is no satisfactor)' evidence that Dr. Freire's inoculations have 
had any prophylactic value." 

RETURN FROM RIO DE JANEIRO 

While at Rio we received and enjoyed some very agreeable 
social attention and the Minister and Mrs. Jarv-is were exceed- 
ingly kind and thoughtful towards us at all times. We also 
met many distinguished officers of our own Xa\y, and had 
enjoyed the social intercourse with so many charming people 
that we left Rio in deep regret. 

We sailed, August 11, intending to take passage at Bar- 
badoes or St. Thomas should we find a ship departing for Vera 
Cruz, Mex., or for some point in direct communication with 
that port. Our trip north was made uncomfortable by the 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 105 

failure of the ice machine and the consequent deterioration of 
the fresh meats, butter and other perishable provisions. I 
recall nothing of great interest until we had been several days 
at sea, when I awoke one night with a severe chill. Dr. Stern- 
berg proceeded to get some hot water in the rubber bag. He 
soon reentered the state room with the ship surgeon and the 
stewardess, and prepared a mustard foot-bath, which I knew 
was much used at that time as a first aid in yellow fever. I 
was also suffering from aches and pains, further suggestive 
to me of the disease, although I said nothing of my own appre- 
hension. The following morning there was a general moving 
on the ship, all the passengers located anywhere near us sought 
quarters elsewhere to get away from me. Meanwhile I 
developed a high fever and great thirst, but after another 
night of discomfort I discovered that the spot on my body 
where I had been vaccinated was beginning to show life and 
pained me. I called Dr. Sternberg and informed him of my 
diagnosis that the vaccine was taking. This proved rather 
startling information for my husband, who remarked: "That 
English virus must have been contaminated. There must have 
been a germ in it that has taken a long time to incubate in your 
system. The time for the virus of smallpox to take effect has 
long since expired." I recalled the experience of Dr. Goes in 
Rio with his daughter's vaccination from the same lot of virus. 
He said "Yes, but this germ that you have developed must be 
from another family, it has been so long in developing." It 
was evidently not a virulent organism, for I recovered promptly 
and have never since had any reminder of its presence. 

Dr. Sternberg during a part of this trip worked a great deal 
on his report and I helped a little with a card catalogue. Before 
we reached Barbadoes I said to him one day: "If we were 
going home how happy we would both be. Why do you want to 
go to Mexico ?" He looked appealingly at me while he replied, 
"Because I have given so much of my time and strength to the 
investigation of the cause and spread of yellow fever, that I 
feel I have exhausted all the legitimate experimental methods 
that could elucidate the subject. I hope in Mexico I can 
arrange to make human inoculations. In our own country 
this is not possible, and I now think that is the only way this 
problem will ever be solved." Having had an attack of yellow 



106 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

fever, he considered himself immune and hence experimenta- 
tion on his own person would have been useless. 

When we arrived in the harbor at Barbadoes, the health 
officer of the port and his wife came out to us in a small boat. 
We soon learned that every one on board would have to be 
mustered in order to make sure there were no concealed cases 
of smallpox or other communicable diseases among us. Prep- 
arations were made for this formality by tacking canvas across 
the deck of the ship, thus dividing it into two compartments. 
It was quite dark before inspection was begun. The 
first class passengers were first called, each reporting to the 
health officer as the name was read from the ship's register. 
The inspection was very perfunctory, being limited to a casual 
examination of our faces for evidence of a recent attack of 
smallpox. 

No ship was sailing for Mexico from Barbadoes, although 
the quarantine would have prevented our getting on board. 
On arriving at St. Thomas, we found the same rigid quaran- 
tine against the ship. No one on board was allowed to land 
owing to the prevalence of smallpox in Rio at the time of our 
sailing. Dr. Sternberg was greatly disappointed, for he had 
confidently expected to sail from St. Thomas for Mexico. He 
was given no choice, and forced to submit to the quarantine 
regulations, we prorn'rlr.] on the ship to New ^'<»^^.: 

INVLSTIGATIOXS IN MEXICU 

Upon our arrival in New York, Dr. Sternberg made arrange- 
ments to proceed at once by rail to Mexico to meet Dr. Car- 
mona y Valle for an investigation of the latter's methods of 
inoculation and verification of his claims to discover)* of the 
organism of yellow fever. Official orders required that the 
investigations be complete by October 1, but as it was evident 
that the remaining time was insufficient to enable Dr. Sternberg 
to comply with this detail of the instructions, he addressed a 
letter to the Secretary of the Treasur)- asking for an extension 
of twenty days, which was granted. 

Immediately on arrival in the city of Mexico, he presented 
his credentials to the United States minister, Judge Maynard, 
who introduced him to Sr. Marascal. Secretar>' of Foreign 
Affairs, and to General Dia? Pr.-<;,L m ,^f t]^.- \TevJ.' iti "PrMv.iV- 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 107 

lie. From these gentlemen Dr. Sternberg received assurances 
that the government would do all in its power to further the 
object of the mission. Sr. Marascal sent a letter to Pro- 
fessor Carmona y Valle, president of the faculty of the 
National Medical College of Mexico, and another to the gov- 
ernor of the State of Vera Cruz, through whom Dr. Sternberg 
would be able to obtain the necessary facilities required for the 
prosecution of his investigations. 

Dr. Carmona y Valle at once made an appointment for a 
visit to his laboratory, favorably located on the top floor of 
the medical college building, and equipped with all the appar- 
atus required for bacteriologic research, among other things 
a complete set of Koch's apparatus apparently of recent 
acquisition and two Zeiss' high power microscopes. At the 
laboratory Dr. Sternberg met Dr. Carmona y Valle's principal 
assistant. Dr. Angel Gavino Yglesias, latterly professor of 
bacteriology in the medical faculty. 

Dr. Carmona y Valle exhibited cultures of his yellow fever 
microbe, mounted preparations of the same stained with the 
different aniline colors, and sections of liver and kidney stained 
with hematoxylin and picrocarmine. In his official report Dr. 
Sternberg said : 

These preparations were the work of Dr. Gavino and I take 
pleasure in complimenting the gentleman upon his technic. I 
regret to say that I cannot accept Dr. Carmona y Valle's con- 
clusions with reference to the origin and etiological role of the 
micro-organisms which he presented to me as coming from 
the blood and from the urine of yellow fever patients. I 
think I will be able to prove to him and to others in my 
detailed report that they are altogether accidental and without 
significance, so far as the disease is concerned ; that the blood 
and tissues of yellow fever patients do not contain organisms 
such as he exhibited to me in the cultures, that these cultures 
contain a micrococcus and a bacillus, which are specifically dif- 
ferent and bear no relation the one to the other, except the 
accidental one of being associated in his cultures. Therefore, 
his inference that the spherical organisms — micrococci — are 
"zoospores" which may develop into bacilli and these again 
break up into spherical organisms is a mistake ; that the move- 
ments of these "zoospores" observed by him and exhibited to 
me, which he says are not arrested by a temperature of 160° C. 
or by forty-eight hours' exposure to a 1 per cent, solution of 
mercuric chloride, are molecular and not vital movements; 



108 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

that the dark-colored granules in his sections of kidney and 
liver, stained with picrocarmine and haemotoxylin, do not cor- 
respond with the organisms contained in his cultures, and in 
fact are not micro-organisms. While differing radically with 
the learned professor in all of these particulars, I desire 
to testify my high appreciation of his laudable effort to 
apply scientific methods to the study of yellow fever. If 
he had been situated more favorably for the study of this dis- 
ease I dare say he would have found out for himself the 
source of the errors into which I believe he has fallen, but 
having to depend upon others to collect his material at a dis- 
tant locality his misfortune has been that the specimens of 
urine and blood which have served to start his ctiltures con- 
tained extraneous organisms, which bear no relation to the 
disease which he had undertaken to study. 

INVESTIGATIONS AT VERA CRUZ 

Dr. Sternberg learned that the inoculations practiced by E>r. 
Carmona y Valle had for the most part been made in Vera 
Cruz. It was here that Dr. Steniberg had hoped for an oppor- 
tunity to make experiments on the human subject, and he 
proceeded to that city as soon as possible. At his request and 
by permission of the president of the faculty of medicine (Dr. 
Carmona) he was accompanied by Dr. Gavino to assist in the 
researches. After their arrival they established a laboratory 
in their rooms on the upper floor of the Hotel de Mexico 
and hastened to put themselves in communication with the 
physicians in charge of the civil and military hospitals. These 
gentlemen placed their wards at his service and did every- 
thing in their power to further Dr. Sternberg's investigations. 
In his final report he expressed great obligation to Dr. Daniel 
Ruiz, director of the civil hospital, for most valuable assistance 
and for the great interest he took in the experimental 
researches. Unfortunately for Dr. Sternberg's object, there 
were very few typical cases of yellow fever in \'era Cruz dur- 
ing the time remaining (three weeks) and he wa<; unable to 
secure an autopsy in a single undoubted case. 

BLOOD INOCUL.\TIONS BY DR. DANIEL RUIZ 

Dr. Sternberg was especially interested in the inoculation of 
blood from yellow fever patients into susceptible persons, and 
on this phase of the studies he wrote as follows : 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 109 

If the infectious agent in yellow fever is present in the blood, 
we would expect that the disease may be transmitted by 
inoculating a susceptible person with blood drawn from one 
sick with the disease. Dr. Finlay, of Havana, believes that 
the disease is commonly transmitted by mosquitoes, which, 
after filling themselves from a yellow fever patient, transmit' 
the germ by inoculation into susceptible persons. Evidently 
the most satisfactory and direct way of determining whether 
the infectious agent is present in the blood would be to make 
inoculation experiments in susceptible persons. Before going 
to Brazil I had considered the possibility of making this crucial 
experiment, and had determined to make it if opportunity 
offered. When in Vera Cruz I learned that the experiment 
had already been made in 1885 by Dr. Daniel Ruiz, who is an 
entire unbeliever in the infectious nature of yellow fever, and 
had no confidence in the alleged discovery of a yellow fever 
germ by Dr. Carmona. In order to test, in a practical manner, 
the truth of his views, he made in 1885, injections of blood and 
of urine from typical cases of yellow fever into the subcutane- 
ous connective tissue of an "unacclimated" person. The result 
of these inoculations was negative. At the time of my visit 
to Vera Cruz he expressed his entire willingness to repeat these 
experiments in my presence. This was exactly what I desired, 
and accordingly Dr. Ruiz made three inoculation experiments 
upon three unacclimated persons in the hospital. Unfortun- 
ately, the blood used for two of these individuals was obtained 
from a case in which the pathological appearance did not fully 
sustain the diagnosis of yellow fever made during life. . . . 

The third inoculation was made from a nonfatal case on 
the eighth day of sickness, urine still albuminous, skin yellow. 
Fifty cubic centimeters of blood were drawn from the median 
vein of this patient by means of a hypodermic syringe, which 
had been carefully sterilized. This was immediately after 
injected, subcutaneously, in the deltoid region, into the arm of 
a man aged forty, from the interior of Mexico, who had been 
in Vera Cruz only twenty days. The man from whom the 
blood was drawn was apyretic, and the experiment is open to 
the criticism that it was perhaps too long after the inception of 
the malady. I was therefore, anxious to make other experi- 
ments before leaving Vera Cruz, but the time fixed by my 
orders expired without my having had an opportunity to do so. 

The physicians attending the civil and military hospitals in 
Vera Cruz were familiar with Dr. Carmona's claims, but Dr. 
Sternberg could not learn that any of them had confidence in 
the protective inoculation, which had been extensively tested 
in 1885 under their immediate observation. The results then 



110 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

obtained were not- sufficiently encouraging to induce any one to 
continue the practice in Vera Cruz and Dr. Carmona himself 
had not made any considerable number of inoculations since. 

A great deal of laborious comparative work was accom- 
plished in order to examine and fathom the work of Dr. Car- 
mona y Valle, and Dr. Sternberg's preliminar}' report contained 
the following conclusion: 

The claims of Dr. Carmona y Valle of Mexico to have dis- 
covered the specific cause of yellow fever have no scientific 
basis, and he has failed to demonstrate the protective value of 
his proposed methods of prophylaxis. 

Dr. Sternberg was by nature generous and kindly, and he 
fostered a feeling of brotherly interest in the members of his 
profession, especially those who, like himself, were carrying 
on research for the benefit of mankind. It was painful for 
him to refute the claims of those who in their efforts to aid 
humanity had made mistakes. In order to be quite correct and 
just, he did an immense amount of corroborative work, often 
repeating tests that had given rise to the slightest doubt. In 
reference to his personal disappointment, he said: 

No one regrets more than I do that the question of the 
etiology of yellow fever is not yet solved in a definite manner, 
but I at least have not to reproach myself with want of 
diligence or failure to embrace every opportunity for pursuing 
the research. The difficulties have proved to be much greater 
than I anticipated at the outset. 

If the task before me had been to- find an organism in the 
blood like that in relapsing fever, or anthrax, or an organism 
in the organs principally involved as in typhoid fever or 
leprosy, or glanders, or in the intestines as in cholera, the 
researches I have made could scarcely have failed to be 
crowned with success. If I have not succeeded in making a 
positive demonstration which will satisfy the exactions of sci- 
ence, I have at least been able to exclude in a definite manner 
a majority of the micro-organisms which I have encountered 
in my culture experiments, as well as those which various 
other investigators (Domingos Freire of Brazil, Carmona y 
Valle of Mexico, Carlos Finlay of Havana and Paul Gibier of 
France) have supposed to be the specific cause of the disease. 
I shall endeavor to g^ve an exact account of the character of 
these various micro-organisms, and of the evidence upon which 
I feel justified in excluding them from consideration from an 
etiological point of view. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 111 

RETURN TO BALTIMORE 

After his return from Mexico, Dr. Sternberg received orders 
from the War Department to report again for duty in Balti- 
more as attending surgeon and examiner of recruits. This 
was joyful news for both of us; my husband could arrange the 
hours of his Army duties and could continue and complete 
the work of his recent scientific expedition. He would again 
enjoy the privileges and the facilities of the biologic laboratory 
at the Johns Hopkins University, where he had previously been 
made an honorary fellow. Dr. Sternberg always greatly appre- 
ciated the value of intimate association with men of sympa- 
thetic interests such as Dr. William H. Welch and William T. 
Councilman; this association brought renewed effort and 
encouragement. President Oilman and Mrs. Oilman were 
exceedingly kind and cordial in their greeting to us, and we 
enjoyed all the pleasure and many of the privileges of the uni- 
versity staff. We also had the good fortune to make or renew 
the acquaintance of some of the most interesting and influ- 
ential residents of the city. 

Dr. Sternberg had been carefully checking over his work 
in Brazil and Mexico, and had verified and repeated many of 
the bacteriologic researches. But he was not fully satisfied 
and wished to go to Cuba during an epidemic season for 
further verification and more experimental work. In those 
days it was not an easy matter to get material for laboratory 
work as many of the hospitals were very much opposed to 
postmortem examinations. In order to make certain that there 
was no invasion of other germs after death, it was necessary 
that materal for biologic examination and experimentation 
should be obtained within two hours after the patient had suc- 
cumbed to the disease. During severe epidemics, it was then 
believed that the body was in such a badly infected condition 
that nothing should be done in preparation for burial, except 
to fold the corpse in a sheet, which was saturated with a solu- 
tion of mercury bichlorid or carbolic acid. Burials were 
frequently made as early as one or two hours after death. All 
chances for successful research work were lost forever, unless 
someone followed the body to the cemetery and obtained the 
desired material in a clandestine manner. Through the kind- 
ness of Dr. Daniel M. Burgess of Havana, Dr. Sternberg had 
been enabled to do some work with reliable pathologic material. 



112 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 



STUDIES IN HAVANA 



April 23, 1888, in response to his own request, Dr. Stem- 
berg received orders to proceed to Havana. These orders were 
clearly intended to afford him the opportunity for continuing 
his investigations during the epidemic season at one of the 
permanent centers of infection, but the time was again limited 
through misapprehension as to the availability of the appropria- 
tion after the end of the fiscal year. He was required to return 
to his station and submit his report to the President on or 
before June 25, 1888, but he employed this time most usefully, 
especially in investigating the claim of Dr. Paul Gibier, a 
French bacteriologist, who had gone to Cuba in the autumn of 
1887 in the expectation of finding the yellow fever microbe of 
Dr. Freire. 

DR. GIBIER'S bacillus 

Dr. Gibier arrived in Havana in November, 1887, and pro- 
ceeded to make bacteriologic researches by approved meth- 
ods. Having convinced himself that neither the micrococcus of 
Freire, nor any other micro-organism was present in the blood 
of yellow fever patients. Dr. Gibier turned his attention to the 
micro-organisms present in the alimentary canal and isolated 
from the contents of the intestines of one or more cases a 
liquefying bacillus to which he was inclined to attach special 
importance. Dr. Gibier kindly placed in my hands a culture 
of this bacillus upon my arrival in Havana in the spring of 
1888. and I have had it in constant cultivation since that time, 
and have made numerous inoculations into rabbits and guinea 
pigs which show that it is pathogenic for these animals. But 
my extended researches give no support to the supposition that 
it is concerned in the etiology of yellow fever. 

This conclusion was based on twenty autopsies made in 
Havana and in Decatur, Ala., in 1888, and ag^in in Havana in 
1889.^ 

Not having arrived at any definite conclusion as to the spe- 
cific cause of the disease under investigation. Dr. Sternberg 
again requested assignment to Cuba during the epidemic sea- 
son of 1889, and received orders which enabled him to spend an 
entire summer in Havana. 



1. For further details see Dr. Sternberg's Report on Etiologj- and 
Prevention of Yellow Fever, Washington, Government Printing Office. 
1890. pp. 167, 177, 178. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 113 

YELLOW FEVER GERM OF DR. CARLOS FINLAY 

On his earlier visit Dr. Sternberg had taken deep interest 
in the work of Dr. Carlos Finlay and Dr. Delgado in bac- 
teriology. Dr. Finlay had observed micrococci in groups of 
four in cultures obtained from mosquitoes, which he allowed 
to fill with blood from yellow fever patients. He inferred 
that the micrococci came from the blood of the sick, and that 
the grouping in fours was a character by which he could dis- 
tinguish this organism, which he named Micrococcus tetragenus 
febris flavae, upon the supposition that it was concerned in the 
etiology of yellow fever. 

During the winter of 1887-1888, Dr. Finlay had sent Dr. 
Sternberg a number of mosquito cultures which were found to 
contain a variety of micro-organisms. Among these the large 
micrococcus grouped in tetrads was most conspicuous, and it 
had been isolated and studied in pure culture. Dr. Sternberg 
found this organism in cultures from the contents of the 
stomach and intestines of yellow fever cadavers and in one case 
from the liver. His researches convinced him, however, that it 
is a very common organism on the surface of the body of 
patients in the hospitals of Vera Cruz and of Havana. In 
Brazil in 1887, Dr. Goes obtained it in a culture from blood 
drawn from the finger of a yellow fever patient. Dr. Sternberg 
inferred that its presence was accidental and due to contamina- 
tion of the drop of blood during collection ; and this he believed 
to have been the case when found in Dr. Finlay's culture from 
blister serum. At all events, in a case of brain disease and one 
of skin disease, in which Drs. Finlay and Delgado applied 
blisters and collected serum by their usual method. Dr. Stem- 
berg obtained this micrococcus in Esmarch roll-tubes to which 
the serum had been added. These cases had not been asso- 
ciated in any way with yellow fever patients, and the blister 
serum was collected at Dr. Sternberg's suggestion as a control 
experiment. From this and other experimental data. Dr. Stem- 
berg concluded: 

There is no reason to believe that this organism has any- 
thing to do with the etiology of yellow fever and its occasional 
presence in blood drawn from the finger, or in blister serum 
is due to accidental contamination from the surface of the body 
or from the atmosphere. 



114 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Dr. Sternberg in reference to this matter also wrote : 

My friend, Dr. Finlay, is a most enthusiastic and industrious 
investigator, but like many other pioneers in bacteriological 
research at a distance from centers where modern exact 
methods had their origin, at the time of making his first publi- 
cations he was not familiar with methods of isolating and 
differentiating micro-organisms, and he fell into the usual and 
almost inevitable errors of inference as to various micro- 
organisms encountered by him in his earlier researches. He 
has since made himself familiar with the methods referred to 
and no longer insists upon the etiological relations of this 
micrococcus to the disease under consideration — namely yellow 
fever. 

NEW METHOD OF TREATING YELLOW FE\'ER 

Dr. Sternberg studied all factors related to yellow fever, such 
as climatic influences, the origin of epidemics and the surround- 
ings, in fact everything relating to the cause and prevention 
of this frightful plague. His intimate association with the 
disease had convinced him that no medical treatment could be 
regarded curative and only a few remedies afforded alleviation, 
hence he considered careful nursing and alimentation of prime 
importance. His researches in Havana in 1888 led him to 
think it very probable that in yellow fever as in cholera, the 
specific micro-organism causing the disease is located in the 
alimentary canal, and he therefore made an attempt to formu- 
late a method of treatment in accordance with this view of the 
etiology and pathology of the disease. In support of this he 
said: 

The intensely acid condition of the urine and the vomited 
matter, in fact, I have usually found the contents of the intes- 
tine more or less acid, has led me to think that a ver>' decidedly 
alkaline treatment might be beneficial, and in view of the prob- 
ability that the specific infectious agent is located in the 
alimentary' canal, I have combined with it the agent which is 
known to restrict the development of micro-organisms when 
present in very minute quantities. The formula suggested was 
as follows : Sodium bicarbonate, 10 grams ; mercury bichlorid, 
2 centigrams ; water, one quart ; three tablespoon fuls to be given 
ice cold ever}' hour. 

A letter from Dr. D. M. Burgess, sanitary inspector of 
Havana, gave an account of the results up to a fixed date. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 115 

Ten cases (six severe ones) have been treated at Garcini by 
your alkaline and bichlorid method, and all have recovered ; 
none subjected to that method have died, three were treated 
successfully in another hospital here. Four are today receiving 
the treatment at Garcini, and about an equal number at each 
of two other institutions.^ 

Among sixty-five white patients treated at Decatur, Ala., by 
other methods the mortality rate was 40 per cent., and among 
twenty-five colored patients 20 per cent., whereas under the 
alkaline and bichlorid treatment not a single death occurred 
out of thirty-two cases among the colored population, and the 
mortality rate among the whites was reduced to 12.5 per cent. 
Dr. Sollace Mitchell of Jacksonville, Fla., wrote to Dr. Stern- 
berg, Sept. 9, 1889: 

I treated in all 216 cases. I did not begin the use of the 
bichlorid until I had treated some thirty-five or forty by other 
methods, and when the bichlorid was begun, only every fourth 
patient was put upon it, then every other patient, and toward 
the last almost all patients were put upon it. The bichlorid and 
alkaline treatment gave the best results by all odds. 

Dr. Mitchell's list included 106 cases with five deaths, a 
mortality rate of 4.7 per cent. ; seventy-nine of these cases and 
all of the deaths were among white patients, a mortality rate 
of 6.3 per cent., twenty-seven patients were colored, with no 
deaths. The mortality among the white population considered 
separately, was estimated at from 22 to 25 per cent. 

METHODS OF RESEARCH 

The investigations conducted in the city of Havana in the 
summer of 1888 and 1889, at Decatur, Ala., in the autumn of 
1888, and pathologic research in the laboratories of the Johns 
Hopkins University during the intervals between visits to 
infected localities, formed the basis of Dr. Sternberg's final 
report. The bacteriologic studies were made with material 
from forty-three yellow fever cadavers, from "black vomit" 
and from feces of patients in various stages of the disease. 
Eighteen cadavers in which death occurred from diseases other 
than yellow fever were used as controls. The reports give 
clear statements of facts, and an outline of the procedure. He 



1. See p. 85 of Dr. Sternberg's Report, also Therap. Gaz. (Aug. 15) 
1888; (May 15) 1889. 



116 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

describes (1) the source of material; (2) the methods of col- 
lecting material; (3) the methods of research: (a) the direct 
examination of smear preparations from the blood and tissues 
for micro-organisms, (b) aerobic cultures, (c) anaerobic cul- 
tures, (d) examinations of tissues kept for forty-eight hours 
in antiseptic wrapping, (e) experiments on animals, (/) 
examination of tissues preserved in alcohol, and (g) photo- 
micrographs of micro-organisms encountered. 

The exhaustive investigations on which his final reports were 
based are indicated in an outline of the technical procedures in 
the research. 

EXAMINATION OF SMEAR PREPARATIONS 

Referring to the direct examination of smear preparations 
from the blood and tissues of all of his autopsies he wrote 
on page 104 : 

Usually I have stained these preparations with an aqueous 
solution of fuchsin, or with Loeffler's solution of methylene 
blue . . . and I feel very confident that with my 1/18 
homogeneous oil immersion objective of Zeiss, the Abbe con- 
denser and a fuchsin-stained smear preparation from the blood, 
liver or kidney, any micro-organism of this class which might 
be present should be seen. 

His preparations of blood from the heart did not show the 
presence of micro-organisms, even in cases in which he obtained 
them by the culture method ; as a rule the results of such cul- 
tures were negative, but in certain cases colonies of Bacterium 
coli commune and occasionally of other bacilli developed. 

My smear preparations made from material obtained from 
the stomach and intestine have always shown the abundant 
presence of micro-organisms. . . . There is no single one 
to fix the attention as being peculiar to yellow fever, or so 
constantly and abundantly present as to give ground to the 
belief that it is concerned in the etiolog>' of this disease. 

AEROBIC CULTURES 

Aerobic cultures from blood from one of the cavities of the 
heart in the majority of cases gave a negative result, but in 
a certain proportion of the cases colonies developed in Elsmarch 
roll-tubes to which one or more drops of blood had been added. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 117 

A summary of these results showed that he obtained micro- 
organisms in his aerobic cultures in blood from the heart four 
times in nineteen cases ; in the liver and kidney, or both, thirteen 
times in forty-three cases. He stated : 

It will be noticed that the micro-organisms most frequently 
encountered were non-liquefying, my bacillus "A" and bacillus 
"X". We are therefore able to assert in the most positive 
manner that the blood and tissues of yellow fever cadavers do 
not contain aerobic liquefying organisms unless by rare excep- 
tions and can definitely exclude the micrococcus of Freire and 
the "tetragenus" of Finlay, from consideration as possible 
agents in the etiology of this disease, as both of these grow 
readily in the culture medium used in these investigations and 
both liquefy gelatin. 

This fact seemed to exclude from consideration the supposi- 
tion that yellow fever is due to the presence in the alimentary 
canal of a liquefying bacillus, as is the case in cholera. 

We might be satisfied with this general statement but for 
the fact that Dr. Paul Gibier, during his visit to Havana in 
1888 encountered a liquefying bacillus which he supposed for 
a time at least to be the specific microbe of the disease. In 
view of Dr. Gibier's publication referring to this bacillus, I 
have given special attention to a search for liquefying colonies 
in the dejecta. As stated no liquefying colonies have made 
their appearance in a considerable portion of the cases, but in 
a few exceptional cases the liquefying colonies have been very 
numerous. . . . These experiments were repeated for a 
control experiment at Decatur, Ala., October, 1888, which gave 
numerous liquefying colonies ; colonies both from the stomach 
and the intestine, and the liquefying organism proved to be the 
staphylococcus pyogenes aureus. . . . After further 
experimental work this conclusion is given in regard to the 
claim of Dr. Gibier's bacillus (Sternberg's bacillus "G"). It 
has been present in the intestine of a few cases, but that it has 
been absent in a much greater number, and when present has 
not been abundant as compared with the nonliquefying organ- 
isms. The inference is that its presence is accidental and that it 
bears no etiological relation to the disease, and in view of the 
facts developed by my culture experiments the broad statement 
seems to be justified that yellow fever is not due to a liquefying 
aerobic bacillus. 

ANAEROBIC CULTURES 

An account of the various micro-organisms which Dr. Stern- 
berg isolated by this method was given. 



118 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

The general results so far as investigations on blood and 
tissue are concerned are similar to that obtained in my aerobic 
cultures. That is, various micro-organisms have been encount- 
ered in the series of cases in which this method has been 
applied, but no one of them has been constant, and in consider- 
able proportion of the cases the result has been entirely nega- 
tive. Some of the micro-organisms isolated in my anaerobic 
cultures are identical with those obtained in aerobic cultures 
from the same source ; for my bacillus "A" and "X", and other 
bacilli associated with them in the intestine, are facultative 
anaerobics and grow either in the presence, or the absence of 
oxygen. 

EXAMINATION OF TISSUES IN ANTISEPTIC WRAPPING 

This led to uniformly negative results, as is clearly apparent 
from Dr. Sternberg's writings : 

A microscopical examination of stained smear preparations 
of the liver or kidney shows that a large number of micro- 
organisms are present. 

The one which I found most constantly and abundantly in 
yellow-fever tissues preserved in this way was a large anaerobic 
bacillus — my bacillus **N", which I now call Bacillus caduz'cri- 
nus. Having also found this several times in my smear prepa- 
rations from fresh liver tissue, and finding it to be very com- 
mon in the contents of the intestine, I hoped for a time, that 
it might turn out to be the specific agent in the disease under 
investigation. But before leaving Havana, I had found what 
appeared to be the same bacillus in a piece of liver, which I 
obtained from a case of tuberculosis ; and since my return to 
Baltimore I have found it in other comparative autopsies ; so 
that I now feel compelled to exclude it from consideration as 
having any etiological relation to yellow fever. 

RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS 

Dr. Sternberg in 1879 at Havana exposed a number of 
guinea-pigs on an infected ship during the hottest part of the 
year for a period of forty-eight hours; none of the animals 
contracted yellow fever. 

Dr. Frcire in 1885 made inoculations in guinea-pigs of blood 
and from "black vomit" in which deatli followed the inocula- 
tion and in every one of which the assumption is made that 
the animals succumbed to yellow fever. But his summary- 
statement of these experiments presents some points of interest. 
Thus we find that one animal died at the end of a few hours. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 119 

while one lived for 30 days. Yet death in both of these 
extreme cases is ascribed to yellow fever, resulting from the 
inoculation practiced. 

Dr. Sternberg made nearly 100 inoculation experiments in 
order to verify Dr. Freire's claim, but failed to produce the 
disease. He found that the blood and liver tissues were not 
always pathogenic for guinea-pigs or rabbits, 

but that in exceptional cases in which the large anaerobic 
bacillus "N" is present, death may occur very promptly. We 
must therefore conclude that the death of guinea-pigs inocu- 
lated by Dr. Freire during the epidemic season resulted not 
from yellow fever, but from inoculation with some pathogenic 
organism, which was abundant during the summer months, 
and consequently was present in his cultures, or from accidental 
inoculation through the wound made by him in his experiments. 

A large number of experiments and control experiments were 
also undertaken to test the infectiousness of the contents of 
the stomach and intestine, and while some of the inoculations 
proved virulent and even fatal to guinea pigs, he was unable 
to demonstrate that any one of the numerous micro-organisms 
encountered was the specific cause of yellow fever. 

EXAMINATION OF TISSUES PRESERVED IN ALCOHOL 

There were many days spent in painstaking search for micro- 
organisms in tissues obtained postmortem and preserved in 
alcohol. 

In all infectious diseases which have been proved to be due 
to the presence of a parasitic micro-organism in the blood, this 
organism may be demonstrated in properly stained thin sec- 
tions of the tissues. In such sections we often obtain cross 
sections of small blood vessels in which the blood corpuscles 
are in situ, and in which a stained micro-organism if present 
would be very apparent. . . . Moreover in certain infec- 
tious diseases in which a parasitic micro-organism has been 
proved to be the essential etiological factor this organism is 
not found as a rule in the general blood current, but is present 
in the tissues, especially implicated in the morbid process ; e. g. 
in typhoid fever in the spleen and intestinal glands, in tubercu- 
losis in the tubercular nodules in the lungs and elsewhere. 
Failure to find a parasitic organism in blood drawn from the 
finger is therefore not satisfactory evidence of the absence of 
a specific germ from the tissues of the organs involved. As 
in yellow fever the liver and kidneys give evidence of patho- 
logical changes resulting from this disease, I have naturally 



120 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

given special attention to these organs in the researches I have 
made. The Havana commission in 1879 made numerous sec- 
tions of material preserved in alcohol from eighteen cases, and 
a careful examination of these sections failed to reveal the 
presence of any micro-organism; but as more satisfactory 
methods of staining have since been devised, I have not con- 
sidered the work done at that time as conclusive in this regard. 
I therefore wrote to my friend, Dr. Daniel M. Burgess of 
Havana, sometime in the summer of 1884, requesting him to 
obtain for me small pieces of liver, kidney and stomach from 
one or more typical cases of yellow fever. I made it an essen- 
tial condition that the autopsies should be made within an hour, 
or, at the outside, two hours after death, so that there might 
be no question of postmortem changes. Small pieces of the 
organs named were to be put up at once into a large quantity 
of strong alcohol. The specimen arrived in good condition, 
and, upon microscopic examination, the liver and kidneys 
showed the pathological changes constantly found in the dis- 
ease in question. 

During the winter of 1884-85 I mounted numerous thin 
sections from material, stained with various aniline colors. In 
none of these did I find any micro-organisms, except upon the 
surface of the mucous membrane, in sections of the stomach 
where various organisms — bacilli and micrococci — were to 
be seen in properly stained sections. . . . 

In the autumn of 1885, during a visit to Dr. Koch's labora- 
tory in Berlin, I had an opportunity to avail myself of the 
suggestions and valuable assistance of the master of bacteri- 
ology and I again studied the material which Dr. Burgess had 
sent me from Havana by the various methods of staining con- 
sidered to be most useful in such research. At the request of 
Dr. Koch I was assisted in this research by Dr. Carl Seitz, 
who was at that time engaged upon his studies of typhoid 
fever, and was an expert in staining and mounting thin sections 
of the tissues. Dr. Seitz and myself examined numerous sec- 
tions of liver and kidney stained by various methods, with 
entirely negative results, so far as the presence of micro- 
organisms was concerned. 

After my return to Baltimore in 1886 I again made numerous 
sections from the same material and stained with Loeffler's 
alkaline solution of methylene blue, which we had also used in 
Dr. Koch's laboratory, and with other aniline colors, but with- 
out any better success. Desiring to repeat these researches 
upon fresh material, I wrote to my friend, Dr. Burgess, during 
my stay at Rio (June and July, 1887) requesting him again 
to collect pathological material for me from at least four cases 
of yellow fever, so that after my return to Baltimore I might 
continue these investigations. As before, this material was to 








■4-1 

rh 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 121 

be obtained as soon as possible after death, that autopsies 
should be made within an hour, or, at the outside, two hours 
after death and to be put at once into strong alcohol. 

About the first of December I received from Dr. Burgess 
the desired material in good condition. 

I have made a large number of very thin sections, which I 
have studied and stained by various methods of staining and 
with objectives of high power, the one-eighteenth and the 
one-twelfth inch homogeneous oil immersion of Zeiss. 
The result of this research has again been negative so far as 
the general presence of any particular micro-organism in the 
material examined is concerned. 

PHOTOMICROGRAPHS 

Dr. Sternberg was very proficient in the preparation of 
photomicrographs, which process he had successfully employed 
in his numerous bacteriologic demonstrations and later in illus- 
trations for his textbook of bacteriology. On this phase of 
his investigation he reports : 

I have made photomicrographs of the micro-organisms 
encountered in my researches both for the purpose of illus- 
trating my report and as the best method of studying their 
morphology and comparing one with another. All bacteriolo- 
gists now recognize that as a rule it is impossible to identify 
the different species of bacteria by their morphological char- 
acters. There are a number of distinct species of micrococci 
and of bacilli, which resemble each other so closely in form and 
dimensions, that it is impossible for experts to decide from a 
microscopical examination alone whether they are identical or 
not. This can only be determined by other characters, such as 
growth in various culture media, pathogenic power, etc. But, 
on the other hand constant morphological differences enables 
us to differentiate micro-organisms of this class and such 
differences are shown in well made photomicrographs, which 
enable us promptly to recognize differences of form, of dimen- 
sions and of arrangements. Measurements are also made with 
great ease when such photomicrographs have been made with 
a standard of amplification. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Dr Sternberg published these researches in his report on the 
^'Etiology and Prevention of Yellow Fever" in 1890 by order of 
the Secretary of the Treasury under the Act of Congress 
approved March 3, 1887. The report covers 271 pages, with 
21 plates and reproductions of photomicrographs, illustrating 



122 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

the numerous micro-organisms, and was accompanied by 180 
microscopic slides, which were deposited in the Army Medical 
Museum. Dr. Sternberg formulated the following conclusions : 

The experimental data recorded in this report show that 
the specific infectious agent in yellow fever has not been 
demonstrated. The most approved bacteriological methods fail 
to demonstrate the constant presence of any particular micro- 
organism in the blood and tissues of yellow fever cadavers. 

Blood, urine and crushed liver tissue obtained from a recent 
autopsy are not pathogenic, in moderate amount, for rabbits or 
guinea pigs. Liver tissue preserved in an antiseptic wrapping 
at a temperature of 28 to 30 C. for forty-eight hours is very 
pathogenic for guinea pigs when injected subcutaneously. This 
pathogenic power appears to be due to the micro-organisms 
present and to the toxic products developed as a result of their 
growth. It is not peculiar to yellow fever, inasmuch as material 
preserved in the same way at comparative autopsies, in which 
death resulted from accident or other diseases, has given a 
similar result. 

Having failed to demonstrate the presence of a specific germ 
in the blood and tissues it seems probable that it is to be found 
in the alimentary canal, as in cholera. But the extended 
researches made and recorded in the present report show that 
the contents of the intestine of yellow fever cases contain a 
great variety of bacilli and not a nearly pure culture of a single 
species, as is the case in recent and typical cases of cholera. 

Dr. Sternberg had doubtless hoped that his researches might 
lead to the discovery of the yellow fever germ, a discovery alike 
creditable to American science and useful as a basis for pre- 
ventive and curative measures in this pestilential malady. While 
the result was a great disappointment to him, he realized that 
his work had not been in vain and would be of great value in 
guiding future investigators in this field of research. This 
hope was attained in his lifetime. His thorough and painstak- 
ing work is not disparaged even now, for although it was long 
known that the infectious agent is transmitted through the 
sting of a mosquito, and the search had narrowed down to the 
body of this insect, the causative organism {Leptospira 
icteroides) has only recently been isolated by Dr. Hideyo 
Noguchi, member of a commission which was sent by the 
Rockefeller Foundation to South America for the study of 
foci of yellow fever. 



YELLOW FEVER INVESTIGATIONS 123 

Dr. Sternberg was prepared for such a possibility as shown 
by a paragraph in a paper read at the quarantine conference 
held in Montgomery, Ala., in March, 1889, just before his last 
research work in Havana. 

I may say before going any further that my faith in a living 
infectious agent as the specific cause of yellow fever is by no 
means diminished by my failure thus far to demonstrate the 
exact form and nature of this hypothetical "germ." 

The present state of knowledge with reference to the etiology 
of infectious diseases in general, and well known facts relating 
to the origin and spread of yellow fever epidemics fully justify 
such a belief. But yellow fever is by no means the only infecti- 
ous disease in which satisfactory evidence of the existence of a 
living infectious agent is still wanting. In the eruptive fevers 
generally no demonstration has been made of the specific eti- 
ological agent — at least none which has been accepted by com- 
petent pathologists and bacteriologists. The same is true of 
hydrophobia, in which disease we are able to say with con- 
fidence the infectious agent is present in the brain and spinal 
cord of animals which succumb to rabies ; this infectious agent 
is destroyed by a temperature which is fatal to known pathb- 
genic organisms (65 C), and by various germicide agents, 
yet all efforts to cultivate it or to demonstrate its presence in 
the infectious material by staining processes and microscopical 
examination have thus far been unsuccessful. 

Dr. Sternberg's time was fully occupied during these investi- 
gations as must be evident from the thorough study of the vari- 
ous micro-organisms isolated by him, his numerous culture 
experiments and the preparation of 180 microscopic slides of his 
pathologic material. While in Baltimore he did most of his 
pathologic work and not only completed the report referred 
to in the foregoing, but also his first report on yellow fever 
work in Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Decatur, Ala.^ In addition 
he was subject to interruptions by his official duties as attending 
surgeon and examiner of recruits, and as a member of boards 
for the examination of candidates for admission into the Med- 
ical Corps. Years have passed since Dr. Sternberg's pioneer 
research work was done and a new generation has arrived on 
the stage of life, for whom he paved the way to final success 
by his exclusion of numerous suspected organisms. If I have 
succeeded in impressing the younger members of the profes- 



1. See Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the United 
States Marine Hospital Service, 1889, p. 137-233. 



124 



GEORGE M. STERNBERG 



sion with the zeal, thoroughness and accuracy displayed by Dr. 
Sternberg in his efforts to unravel the mystery of yellow fever, 
I shall feel amply repaid. It was given to him to know at 
least how to combat one of the greatest scourges of the past, 
and it has recently fallen to the lot of an investigator from an 
American institute of medical research (Dr. Hideyo Noguchi), 
working in conjunction with one of the successors of General 
Sternberg in the office of Surgeon-General (Gen. William C. 
Gorgas) to demonstrate the causative agent of the disease. 
I am informed that this discovery was made possible by the 
introduction of dark field illumination and improved culture 
methods. 



CHAPTER TEN 
MEDICAL PURVEYOR AT SAN FRANCISCO 

A vacancy in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical 
Corps occurred in October, 1890. Dr. Sternberg had been the 
ranking Major in the corps for some time and in line for 
promotion to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel. With this pro- 
motion we knew would come an order for a change of sta- 
tion, a fact which caused us no little regret. The work con- 
nected with his duty in the Army would probably interfere 
with his experiments in bacteriology. He had just completed 
a lengthy report giving the results of his investigations of 
yellow fever, but there still remained certain experimental 
work which he wished to do. The order detailing Dr. Stern- 
berg as medical purveyor at San Francisco was issued October 
3, 1890. The duties required of him in this capacity were of a 
strictly business character, and it was very painful for him to 
give up his researches. When professional friends came to say 
good-bye, I heard him speak of the topics he had long wished 
to take up and he was already estimating the possibility of 
doing some of this work in addition to his duties as medical 
purveyor. 

The tour of duty in San Francisco was for Dr. Sternberg a 
sudden and complete change of mental occupation. Still, with 
all the exactions of a large business to transact and keep in 
perfect running order, he found time to do a great deal of 
reading in modern science and to write on his favorite subjects. 
He was particularly interested in bacteriologic research by 
experts in other countries so that he might bring his Manual of 
Bacteriology fully up to date. As a student of preventive 
medicine he paid special attention to the eradication of prevent- 
able disease, and for this reason he felt it his duty to accept 
invitations to address professional and public audiences on 
topics which instructed the physicians and the public in the 
application of scientific methods to the cause of humanity. 
Most of his lectures were illustrated with lantern slides of 
photomicrographs made by himself. He spoke in a pleasant 
tone of voice, knew his subject perfectly and made his points 
clear. His popular subjects related largely to the causes and 



126 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

prevention of tuberculosis, typhoid fever, malaria, diphtheria, 
scarlet fever and infection and susceptibility to infection. In 
some cities he gave expert information in regard to the hygiene 
of water supply and drainage, and advised on methods for 
the removal of unsanitary conditions. In matters of sanitation, 
he considered public education more effective than legislation. 
So deeply engrossed was he with his official business and 
scientific pursuits, that he scarcely gave himself an hour's 
leisure. It devolved upon me to plan diversion for his mental 
and physical welfare. His interest in botany gave me excuse 
to suggest short trips to Monterey and other coastal resorts, 
to the beautiful Santa Clara Valley and to San Jose. Many 
times we drove to Golden Gate Park, a magnificently cultivated 
tract of one thousand acres fronting the ocean. Its con- 
servatories have many exotic plants, rare begonias and orchids, 
while groves of bamboo and of Australian trees give the 
impression of residence in the subtropics. 

PUBLICATION OF MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 

In addition to his regular duties as medical pur^-eyor, Dr. 
Sternberg served as member of a board to examine officers of 
the Corps of Engineers, with a view to determining their fitness 
for promotion, and on surveys for ascertaining and fixing the 
responsibility for any loss or damage of quartermasters' stores 
and garrison equipage. But his most exacting and painstaking 
labor was devoted to the completion of his monumental work 
on bacteriology. This volume covered 900 pages, and gave an 
extensive account and systematic classification of micro-organ- 
isms, describing nearly 500 species, including 158 pathogenic 
varieties. Many of the illustrations were from photomicro- 
graphs prepared by Dr. Sternberg. The treatise was for many 
years the leading manual for teachers and physicians, and an 
instructive textbook for students of medicine. Dr. Walter 
Reed, who later attained fame for scientific work in the same 
field, commented on the book in the following letter: 

Headquarters Department of Dakota, 

St. Paul, Minn., March 28, 1893. 
Dear Doctor: 

Please accept my heartiest thanks for the cultures which 
arrived in good shape, a few days ago. I should be very glad 
to give more of my time to bacteriology, but, alas, my dear 



SAN FRANCISCO 127 

doctor, when most interested I must stop for practical things, 
so that I can only do the merest "dabbling." I have your new 
work, which was sent to me on special requisition. How an 
Army medical officer, in the midst of daily routine work, could 
have written so excellent and so exhaustive a work, I can't 
understand. Besides reflecting the greatest credit on our Corps, 
it must always stand as a monument to your energy and ability. 
Again thanking you for your kindness, I remain. 
Sincerely yours, 

Walter Reed. 

attending surgeon at new york 
Dr. Sternberg was relieved from duty in the purveying depot 
of San Francisco, Feb. 2, 1892, by orders which assigned him 
to New York as attending surgeon and examiner of recruits. 
We preferred to go East by the Southern Pacific R. R., to give 
Dr. Sternberg opportunity to visit a sister living in Los Angeles. 
On arriving in New York we engaged accommodations well 
uptown, quite near the Windsor Hotel. The house was large 
and well located on a crosstown street. Dr. Sternberg's duty 
obliged him to be at the Army Building (foot of Broadway) at 
an early hour in the morning, and in order to accomplish this 
he journeyed back and forth on the elevated road. The daily 
trips on crowded and illventilated cars proved very fatiguing 
and we therefore located at the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn, 
very near the foot of Broadway. The change seemed all the 
more desirable as we had friends living in Brooklyn, and a 
number of Army and Navy officers were stopping at the same 
hotel. 

Dr. Sternberg had been for some time the director by cor- 
respondence of the Hoagland laboratory for bacteriologic 
research. This laboratory was built and endowed by a wealthy 
citizen of Brooklyn, Dr. C. N. Hoagland, and Dr. E. H. Wilson 
was in active charge. It was proposed by Dr. Wilson that I 
should do some laboratory work and act as chaperon for a 
large class of lady students from the Pratt Institute contemplat- 
ing a course at the laboratory. The class after learning gen- 
eral laboratory technic and how to make culture media, 
studied the bacteriology of drinking water, of the milk supply 
of the city, made gelatin cultures from the air, and did various 
routine procedures. No pathogenic or disease germs were given 
them for cultivation or isolation. I had learned earlier how to 



128 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

make cultures, and how to use the microscope with high power 
lenses, and was fairly familiar with other details. 

While we were examining the growths from samples of the 
drinking water, I isolated an organism that gave me consider- 
able uneasiness. It was new to me ; I made several cultures 
because it acted so strangely that I thought I must have con- 
taminated my culture from my needle or some unknown source. 
On the first day the organism looked very much like the 
bacillus of tuberculosis, by the second day it had lost all resem- 
blance. After trying hard to solve my problem, I spoke of it to 
Dr. Sternberg. One day he walked over to the laboratory with 
me. I again prepared my slide and placed it under the micro- 
scope. Dr. Sternberg noted its resemblance to the tubercle 
bacillus, but cautioned against mentioning it lest all Brooklyn 
be wild to think that the water supply was contaminated. But 
when he saw the slide I prepared on the following morning, he 
concluded that my "discovery" was an interesting specimen of 
protozoa not previously described. I had the privilege of nam- 
ing it after Dr. Hoagland, the generous founder of the labora- 
tory. Years after I was informed by Dr. Wilson that they still 
carried a culture of my *'find" at the laboratory. 

CONSULTANT IN CHOLERA QUARANTINE 

In September, 1892, because of the prevalence of an epidemic 
of cholera in Hamburg, a vessel bound for New York was 
detained at the quarantine station. Prompt steps had to be 
taken to prevent the spread of the disease in the United States, 
and Dr. Sternberg (primarily at the request of Mr. Ohr, pres- 
ident of the chamber of commerce), was called into consulta- 
tion, which action was approved by the following official 
communication from the Surgeon-General's office. 

Lieut. Colonel George M. Sternberg. 

Attending Surgeon and Examiner of Recruits, 
New York City, N. Y. 
Sir: 

I am directed by the Surgeon General to say that the Secre- 
tary of War has approved the request of Allen McLane Hamil- 
ton, M.D., Secretary of the Special Cholera Committee. Cham- 
ber of Commerce, New York Cit>', N. Y., for your temporar>' 
detachment for service with Dr. Jenkins. Health Officer at the 



SAN FRANCISCO 129 

Port of New York, and the fact was communicated to you by 
telegraph this morning. 

The Surgeon General desires that you will leave notice at 
your office in the City of New York, that ordinary calls for 
professional service from the officers on duty in the city will be 
attended to by Dr. A. B. Townsend, under the provisions of 
G. O. No. 75, A.G.O. Sept. 2, 1881. Upon your return to the 
city you will please have Dr. Townsend's account made up and 
forwarded to this office for payment. 

Very respectfully, 

Chas. R. Greenleaf, 
Deputy Surgeon General, U. S. Army. 

This detail required Dr. Sternberg to be on duty at the 
quarantine station on Staten Island, and he accepted the kind 
invitation of Dr. Jenkins to be his guest while engaged in this 
work. Dr. Sternberg was at that time considered an authority 
on cholera ; he had learned much from experience in combating 
a severe epidemic at Fort Harker, Kan., in 1867, and had 
devoted much time in the laboratory to the study of the causa- 
tive agent and methods of sterilization by physical and chemical 
means. 

At the request of the health officer of the port, Dr. Stern- 
berg made exhaustive tests of the efficacy of disinfection meth- 
ods employed at Hoffman's Island, the results of which were 
summarized in published articles.^ 

As a singular triumph of American preventive medicine it 
may be pointed out that although cholera affected over 17,000 
persons and caused 8,605 deaths at Hamburg, and had been 
brought to our very shores, not a single case developed in this 
country, nor has it ever gained a foothold during the succeeding 
years. 

After Dr. Sternberg's relief from special detail at the quar- 
antine station he received assignments to duty on various 
special boards. The first was for an examination of an officer 
with a view to his selection for transfer to the Ordnance 
Department. Shortly after this, another order came to serve 
on a board to investigate the sanitary condition of Madison 



1. Disinfection at Quarantine Stations, Especially Against Cholera, 
New York M. J. 57:57, 1893; How Can We Prevent Cholera? Med.-Leg. 
J. 11:1, 1893; The Biological Characters of the Cholera Spirillum, 
Spirillum Cholerae Asiaticae (Comma Bacillus of Koch) and Disin- 
fection in Cholera, Med. Rec. 42 : 387. 1892. 



130 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Barracks in connection with an epidemic of typhoid fever, and 
to report to the Secretary of War what measures were neces- 
sary to establish sanitary conditions specially in respect to the 
water supply. This was scarcely accomplished, when he was 
detailed on a board to meet at New York City for examination 
of such officers as might be ordered before it with a view to 
determining their fitness for promotion. 

In the meantime, we heard of the prospective retirement of 
Surg.-Gen. Charles Sutherland. All the senior officers of the 
Medical Corps were naturally interested to know who was to be 
the new Surgeon-General of the Army. Dr. Sternberg had 
learned that other officers of the Corps, junior to him, had for- 
warded papers and stated reasons for their selection for the 
office. He therefore submitted his own testimonials and pre- 
sented his claims, and we were naturally anxiously awaiting 
the results. 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 
APPOINTMENT AS SURGEON-GENERAL 

May 30, 1893, Dr. Sternberg received a telegram telling him 
he had been appointed by the President as Surgeon-General of 
the Army. He came at once to Brooklyn, but not finding me 
at home he hurried to the Hoagland laboratory. It was an 
unusual hour for his return and I suspected what brought him — 
for I had just received a telegram giving me the same informa- 
tion. He stepped quickly to me and said : *Tut up your micro- 
scope, my dear, for I have something to tell you that will cause 
you to be happy." He was very silent on the way home and 
when we were alone he looked seriously into my face and said : 
"I do not know whether I am happy or not. I face great 
responsibilities and it is not an easy matter to satisfy every- 
body, and when I make one man happy by recognizing his 
ability there will be many others disappointed and disgruntled, 
so I scarcely know if I am to be congratulated or not. But I 
know the Medical Corps and am proud of the Corps. I have no 
family and I shall consider the medical officers my family and 
will give every man a chance. I shall endeavor to promote a 
truly scientific spirit in the Corps and where I recognize special 
ability, I will do all I can to aid the respective officer to 
achieve success." 

He adhered strictly to this resolution throughout his entire 
administration, and his poHcy resulted in stimulating not only 
interest and enthusiasm on the part of individual members of 
the Medical Corps in scientific work, but also in the professional 
development of many members of the Corps, of whom we are 
all justly proud. These men in my humble opinion owe their 
success largely to the inspiration and encouragement received 
from General Sternberg, who was himself thoroughly equipped 
for modern scientific work. In this opinion I am amply sup- 
ported by the judgment of former Secretary of War, Hon. 
Elihu Root, and by the following quotation : 

In accordance with the liberal policies of General Sternberg's 
administration. Major Walter Reed [1851-1903] was sent to 
pursue advanced studies in pathology and bacteriology under 
Professor Welch at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital and 



132 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

in Welch's laboratory made an important investigation of the 
lymphoid nodules of the liver in typhoid fever ( 1895). In 1900 
Reed was detailed as the head of a board, which included James 
Carroll, Aristides Agramonte and Jesse W. Lazear to study 
yellow fever in Cuba.^ 

As this important work of the Yellow Fever Commission was 
also intimately connected with the life and work of General 
Sternberg, it will be considered in the regular chronologic order. 

General Sternberg proceeded at once to Washington to 
assume his new duties. It was necessary that I should superin- 
tend the packing and shipping of our household effects, and 
some of our own laboratory apparatus. General Sternberg 
selected a nice apartment of four rooms at the Richmond 
Hotel, as we wished to have time to choose our new home. In 
the autumn we purchased a new house on Sixteenth Street, four 
squares from the office of the Surgeon-General in the War 
Department. For the first time in four years we had the oppor- 
tunity of having all our household belongings together, and 
we had a new sensation as we hung our Indian trophies and 
curios in our own halls. 

ESTAIILISHMENT OF THE .\KMV MEDICAL SCHOOL 

Very soon after taking over the office of Surgeon-General 
Dr. Sternberg recommended the establishment of the Army 
Medical School in Washington, D. C, which was accomplished 
by General Order No. 51, Adjutant General's Offict-. Tune 24. 
1893. 

By direction of the Secretary of War. upon the recommenda- 
tion of the Surgeon-General of the Army, an Army Medical 
School will be established in the city of Washington for the 
purpose of instructing approved candidates for admission to 
the Medical Corps of the Army in their duties as medical 
officers. 

The course of instruction will be for four month^^ and will 
be given annually at the Army Medical Museum, m Wash- 
ington City, commencing on the first day of November. 

Four professors will be selected from among the senior med- 
ical officers of the Army stationed in or near the city of Wash- 
ington, and as many associate professors as may be required 
to give practical laboratory instruction in the methods of sani- 
tary analyses, microscopical technique, clinical microscopy, 
bacteriology, urine analysis, etc. 

1. McCulloch. Col. C C; Scientific Monthly 4:410 (May) 1917. 



SURGEON -GENERAL 133 

The faculty of the Army Medical School will consist of — 

1. A President of the Faculty, who shall be responsible for 
the discipHne of the school, and who will deliver a course of 
lectures upon the duties of medical officers in war and peace 
(including property responsibility, examination of recruits, cer- 
tificates of disability, reports, rights and privileges, customs of 
service, etc.). 

2. A Professor of Military Surgery (including the care and 
transportation of wounded). 

3. A Professor of Military Hygiene (including practical 
instruction in the examination of air, water, food, and clothing 
from a sanitary point of view), 

4. A Professor of Clinical and Sanitary Microscopy (includ- 
ing bacteriology and urinology). 

By command of Major General Scofield: 

R. Williams, Adjutant General. 
Official : 
Assistant Adjutant General. 

In announcing the members of the faculty. General Sternberg 
presented a brief statement outlining the purpose and plans of 
this new center of medico-military education, in which he 
declared that although there is no need to teach medecine or 
surgery to well educated graduates of our medical colleges, 
there are certain duties pertaining to the position of an Army 
medical officer, for which the college course of these young 
men has not prepared them, and certain of these duties are 
more important than the clinical treatment of individual cases 
of disease and injury, because the efficiency of a command, of 
an Army even, may depend on proper performance. 

During the past twenty years the prevention of disease has 
made infinitely greater progress than its cure. Recognizing this 
fact health officers have been appointed, and health boards 
organized by civil communities for their own protection. 

A special education is needful to prepare a medical man to 
undertake the responsibility of protecting the public health. 
The Army medical officer is the health officer of his command, 
but the young graduate seldom is equipped with the knowledge 
or experience necessary for efficient action in this position. The 
course at the Army Medical School will prepare him to cope 
with the question of practical sanitation that will be presented 
to him at every turn in his military career ; questions of site, and 
soil, and buildings ; of ventilation, heating and occupancy ; of 
drainage, sewerage and disposal of garbage ; of the wholesome- 
ness of water supplies, and the various articles of food includ- 
ing the contractor's herd, the slaughterhouse, the subsistence. 



134 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

storerooms, the kitchens and mess halls ; the practical value of 
disinfectants, the bacteria which they destroy and the ptomaines 
which these elaborate — all bearing upon the preservation of the 
health of the military community under his sanitary care. 

The school has already enjoyed many years of usefulness, 
and during the year 1917 graduated over 200 young medical 
officers. Those who have attended are sincere in their acknowl- 
edgment of the benefits derived from a thorough and practical 
course of instruction. I consider this school and the establish- 
ment of laboratories of bacteriology and hygiene one of the 
greatest achievements of General Sternberg's administration. 

CONGRATL'LATORV MESSAGES 

The selection of Dr. Sternberg as Surgeon-General of the 
Army evoked felicitous messages from a host of his friends, but 
none were so much appreciated as those which came from his 
colleagues and co-workers in the medical and scientific world. 
A few examples will serve to show their general imjxDrt. 

Washington, D. C. May 30, 1893. 
Dear General : — 

In sending my congratulations, I wish to say that when I 
nominated you for President of the Section on Military Sur- 
gery of the Pan-American Congress at St. Louis and fought it 
through ... I had no idea that I was speaking for the 
future Surgeon-General, nor yet when I notified you that I 
named tlie new quarantine boat at San Francisco for you. I 
only recognized the accomplished medical officer and the skilled 
bacteriologist, and I am pleased that the high authorities having 
the appointing power have thus rewarded merit. 

I am very truly yours. 

John B. Hamilton. 

Brig.-Gen. Sternberg, 
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army. 

Washington, D. C, May 30, 1893. 
I cannot leave Washington without these few lines to say 
how pleased I am to be able to congratulate you on the 
well earned honor that has been conferred upon you. 

It is peculiarly satisfactory to think that pure science has 
been recognized in this appointment. 

Will you kindly convey my regards to Mrs. Sternberg 
and 1 am, 

Sincerely yours, 

H. P. Walcott. 



SURGEON-GENERAL 135 

Headquarters Department of Dakota, 

St. Paul, Minn., May 30, 1893. 
Surg.-Gen. George M. Sternberg, U. S. Army, 

New York. 
Dear Doctor: — 

Although I have sent you a telegram of congratulations 
upon your richly deserved promotion, I cannot refrain from 
writing just a line to express my gratification over the 
President's handsome tribute to honest merit. When I 
think that it places at the head of the Corps the one man 
who preeminently stands forth as the representative of 
progressive scientific medicine and that it means that the 
fossil age has passed, I have an irresistible desire to toss 
my very hat in the air. I know what pleasure it will give 
to Professor Welch, Dr. Abbott and Dr. Councilman, all of 
whom have so many times spoken of your untiring energy 
and ability. 

I shall always remember Dr. Abbott's remark, made to 
me on one occasion, when he said: "All that I am and 
know concerning bacteriology, I owe to a member of your 
Corps — Dr. Sternberg." 

Having no favors to ask, my dear Doctor, I can all the 
more sincerely congratulate you. 

Believe me, very truly yours, 

Walter Reed. 

5 West Fifty-eighth Street, New York City. 
My dear Dr. Sternberg: — 

I want to extend my warmest congratulations on your recent 
very well earned promotion. You are to be congratulated, how- 
ever, not so much on the promotion, as that was deserved, but 
on the fact that your ability and scientific work have received 
the recognition they merit. I was delighted to hear of the 
appointment and the only regret associated with it is the fact 
that it takes you away from New York. I sincerely hope, how- 
ever, that I may have the pleasure of entertaining you occas- 
ionally in New York when pleasure or business brings you here. 

Very sincerely, 

Hermann M. Biggs. 

New York, May 31, 1893. 
Dear Dr. Sternberg: — 

I must congratulate you somewhat, the Medical Department 
of the Army more, and the great sanitary interests of the coun- 
try most, on your accession to the Surgeon-Generalship. Your 
appointment is the best act yet performed by the President and 
deserves, as it will receive, the hearty commendations of med- 
ical men the world over. I am glad to see that you have a 



136 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

decade of service — a period which will enable you to effect 
great reforms not only in your Department, but in the organiza- 
tion of a National Sanitary Service. 

Very sincerely yours, 

Stephen Smith. 

Philadelphia, June 8, 1893. 
My dear Doctor: — 

Allow me to present you my warm congratulations. I only 
hope your new post will not interfere with the admirable sci- 
entific work for which we are all indebted to you. 

Sincerely yours, 

J. M. Da Costa. 

ATTENDING PHYSICIAN TO THE PRESIDENT 

In 1893, President Cleveland not being in good health, his 
close personal friend and physician, Dr. Joseph D. Bryant, came 
at intervals from New York to see him and prescribe for him. 
Dr. Bryant asked General Sternberg if he would consent to see 
the President and prescribe for him should Mr. Qeveland 
require special medical care during Dr. Br>'ant's absence. Gen- 
eral Sternberg agreed to respond to any call and to render every 
possible service. The President had great responsibility at that 
time and the constant anxiety caused by numerous important 
and vexatious legislative matters was a tremendous tax on 
his vitality. Dr. Sternberg became, therefore, a welcome 
adviser, and as the President's physician, he was greatly loved 
and trusted. He soon became very much attached to Mr. Qeve- 
land, for they had many interests in common. Both were sons 
of ministers, and both had a feeling of loyalty and love for 
New York state. In due time they became ver>- good friends. 

General Sternberg's professional visits to the WTiite House 
soon led to his being in request for members of the presidential 
family, when they needed medical adN-ice. In the Executive 
Mansion, Mrs. Cleveland was a delightful hostess and was 
greatly loved and admired by all who knew her. She was a 
woman of wonderful beauty and g^ce, with the reputation of 
"never having made a mistake while presiding in the White 
House." She always said and did the correct thing, although 
she had come to play this very exacting role at an early age. 
The receptions and dinners at the Executive Mansion were 
brilliant and enjoyable, and at many of these we were invited to 



SURGEON-GENERAL 137 

the Blue Room to meet the Vice-President, the Supreme Court 
judges, the ambassadors, the cabinet officers, prominent Sena- 
tors and Representatives, ranking Army and Navy officers, and 
distinguished visitors and guests. The home of the Secretary 
of War and Mrs. Lamont was also a popular rendezvous during 
his period of office. Mrs. Lamont's cordial manner caused all 
Army officers and their wives to feel that she really was inter- 
ested in seeing them, and they went frequently to her recep- 
tions on Wednesday afternoons. 

OFFICIAL ATTAINMENTS 

General Sternberg soon reorganized the work of his office 
and inaugurated many new and important measures calculated 
to promote the efficiency of the Medical Corps. The routine 
work of the office was to him interesting and important. Friends 
constantly importuned him not to take the details too seriously, 
but to let others do more of the minutiae. While he was very 
fortunate in the selection of his associates, who gave their best 
efforts to the work, he could not for a moment forget his per- 
sonal responsibility for every important transaction. 

This devotion to the slightest detail of his position, together 
with special tours of inspection for the purpose of informing 
himself on conditions in the field, served to keep his time fully 
occupied. Before relating some of the achievements in the 
promotion of efficiency in the Medical Corps, a few words may 
be said of his disappointments. One of his ambitions, as shown 
by the establishment of the Army Medical School, was to have 
a thoroughly trained, full time corps of medical officers, well 
versed in sanitary science and preventive medicine. One can 
readily imagine his chagrin when, during the congressional ses- 
sion of 1893-1894, the House of Representatives deemed it in 
the interest of economy to reduce the numerical strength of the 
Medical Corps, actually contemplating a reduction of 85 in the 
number of Assistant Surgeons. General Sternberg did all in his 
power to prevent its enactment, but the bill as finally passed 
reduced the number of Assistant Surgeons from 125 to 110, 
and made no provision for the employment of Acting Assistant 
Surgeons under the former contract system. Hence, in 1894, 
private practitioners could be employed only by the visit, and 
they were not available for taking charge of a post hospital or 



138 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

of the medical property, for the discipline and drill of the Hos- 
pital Corps, or for the sanitary supervision of a post, so neces- 
sary for the care of the sick and wounded. Nor could they 
be retained for medical service to the families of officers and 
enlisted men. In the bill from which I glean these facts, it is 
stated "that it may be necessary in several instances to employ 
outside attendance of physicians for the smaller posts, but that 
can always be done and efficient service secured at the cost of 
from one fifth to one fourth of the present average salaries of 
officers of the Medical Corps." 

While it is true that practicing physicians from civil life had 
been employed in former years at the Arsenals and small mili- 
tary stations, it is a mistake to suppose that they could be 
employed at a regular garrison post, large or small, at the low 
estimate cited above. A post surgeon has varied and important 
duties to perform in addition to caring for the sick. His pres- 
ence as a member of the garrison is more important than that 
of any other officer, for no other officer can perform the duties 
of the medical officer. When the matter was referred to him, 
the Major General commanding the Army replied that "at 
military posts it is, in my opinion, impracticable to supply the 
necessary service including that of the hospitals, in any other 
way than through the regular commissioned officers." Depan- 
ment commanders were of the opinion that "it was imprac- 
ticable to substitute physicians living near a garrison for the 
regular Army medical officer." In spite of all the eN-idence in 
favor of an increase in the strength of the regular Medical 
Corps, it required many years to secure the necessar>' legisla- 
tion. 

But notwithstanding more or less discouragement and legisla- 
tive embarrassment. General Sternberg gradually accomplished 
much that he had previously planned to do. He directed that 
medical officers be supplied with the most important recent 
medical books and that facilities of the Library of the Surgeon- 
General's Office be freely extended by mail or express to all 
medical officers engaged in literary research. He secured the 
assignment of medical officers to stations in large cities, thus 
affording them unusual advantages for clinical work and 
advanced medical studies, and he expected them to apply the 
knowledge thus gained in the treatment of the sick and wounded 



SURGEON-GENERAL 139 

and in the conservation of the health and efficiency of the troops. 
He made it a personal matter to see that every army hospital was 
properly equipped with a modern operating room and facilities 
for clinical microscopy, while the larger ones were supplied with 
roentgen ray apparatus, and bacteriologic outfits. He created 
a special hospital at Washington Barracks for the relief of 
permanent disabilities, and after a successful demonstration of 
the economic and humane advantages of this plan by Surgeon 
William C. Borden, he directed that surgical operation be 
attempted in cases of hernia and other curable disabilities, 
instead of discharging soldiers or retiring officers, thereby ren- 
dering them pensioners of the Government. In like manner, he 
recommended the establishment of a sanatorium at Fort Bayard 
in New Mexico for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. 
This institution has accomplished great good, not merely by 
restoring many men to active duty again, but also by the humane 
care extended to the hof>eless cases, and the protection afforded 
to the families of the afflicted and the community at large. 
Since its establishment in 1899 to March 31, 1920, it has cared 
for 12,984 patients. General Sternberg organized additional 
training schools for the Hospital Corps and made great 
improvements in the hospital accommodations at many of the 
military posts. He also carefully revised and markedly 
improved the plans of five new hospitals which were completed 
in 1895 at Fort Myer, Va., Fort McHenry, Md., Plattsburg 
Barracks, N. Y., Fort Meade, S. D., and Fort Harris, Mont. 
Previous to this date hospitals had been constructed during his 
administration at Washington Barracks, D. C., and at Fort 
Logan H. Roots, Ark. 

In addition to his official duties. General Sternberg found 
time to complete an important treatise on Immunity, Protective 
Inoculations in Infectious Diseases and Serum Therapy (325 
pp.) in 1895 and also prepared the second edition of his Manual 
on Bacteriology in 1896. General Sternberg was frequently 
urged to write articles for the medical journals and for the lay 
press to elucidate some scientific topic. Not having any chil- 
dren he was especially fond of writing articles for the Youth's 
Companion and he kept up these contributions until near the 
closing days of his life. 



140 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

While Surgeon-General, Dr. Sternberg derived genuine social 
pleasure in the entertainment of guests and close friends as 
well as members of the Medical Corps. He was always consid- 
erate of foreign delegates to scientific meetings and of members 
of international congresses, for he had often received social 
recognition when representing the United States at interna- 
tional congresses in Paris, in Rome, and elsewhere. At other 
times he was in close touch with many of the men who were 
prominent in biologic work in our own countr>' and in foreign 
lands. He was also in close affiliation with the members of the 
American Public Health Association, and with the leaders of 
the American Medical Association and of the Association of 
American Physicians. 

In the fall of 1894, General Sternberg received a letter from 
General Miles directing his attention to Dr. Leonard Wood. 
True to his fixed policy to encourage recognized merit in mem- 
bers of the Medical Corps, he recommended the assignment of 
Dr. Wood for duty in Washington, where he remained until 
the outbreak of the Spanish W^ar, having in the meantime also 
served as physician to the WTiite House. 

Headquarters Department of the Missouri 
Office of the Department Commander 

Kansas City, Mo., Ckrt. 7, 1894. 
My dear General : — 

It may be possible that in the many changes of station of 
troops it may involve some changes of the officers of the 
Medical Department. 

Should this necessitate a change of station of Captain and 
Assistant Surgeon Leonard Wood. I would respectfully sug- 
gest and recommend that he be stationed at Washington, D. C. 
I feel that this consideration would be a just recognition of his 
valuable, laborious and dangerous services and it would greatly 
oblige 

Your friend, 
Nelson A. Miles, 
Major General, U. S. Army. 
Surg.-Gen. G. M. Sternberg, 
Washington, D. C. 

AT WOODS HOLE 

In July, 1896. we spent some time at Wood's Hole in Massa- 
chusetts, which little vacation brought needed rest and recrea- 
tion. While there. General Sternberg received an invitation to 



SURGEON-GENERAL 141 

spend a day with President Cleveland at "Gray Gables" and try 
the fishing in Buzzard's Bay. The President and the General 
put off in a little boat for the fishing holes, Mr. Cleveland in a 
picturesque outfit which made a lasting impression on the 
General, not the least unique feature of which was a soft hat, 
the band of which was filled with fishing hooks and flies of 
every kind. 

One day when things seemed a trifle dull at the hotel, the 
proprietor invited the guests to a New England clam bake on 
the sea beach. I watched this entire procedure with much 
interest, for it seemed to me that it must have originated with 
the aborigines of our country. The men thoroughly cleaned 
some large flat stones, on which a huge fire was lighted. When 
the coals were a bright red, some sea weed was thrown over 
them, and the clams in the shell were placed on the steaming 
sea weed, then green corn, sweet potatoes, and lastly a loaf of 
Boston brown bread were heaped together. All was quickly 
covered with more sea weed to retain the steam. After an hour 
of steaming we were given plates containing a small cup filled 
with melted butter, in which we dipped the clams fresh from the 
shells. During our visit to Wood's Holl representatives of the 
Fish Commission were extremely courteous and kind. We 
were frequently invited to accompany parties going to gather 
fish and interesting specimens from the salt water. By invita- 
tion General Sternberg gave an illustrated lecture on immunity, 
the resisting power, natural or acquired, which living animals 
possess against invasion by pathogenic micro-organisms. He 
also lectured on biology at the Marine Biological Laboratory. 

Our country was at that time in a great state of political 
excitement. It was election year, filled with interest for all 
parties. The enthusiastic nomination of William McKinley as 
candidate for President on the Republican ticket filled the 
hearts of the men of his party with confidence and hope. His 
previous years of training and responsibility as a member of 
Congress, and his experience as the governor of Ohio had 
signalized him as a man of superior ability, with the power to 
act promptly and intelligently in deciding great problems of 
state. He had a charming personality and had many warmly 
attached friends in all sections of the country and there was 
great rejoicing when the returns showed that he had been 
chosen to fill the highest office within the gift of the people. 



142 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

The last winter of any administration in the White House is 
usually considered less brilliant socially, but we saw no evidence 
of this during Mr. Cleveland's term. The autumn and winter 
brought the usual activities, and the formal receptions at the 
White House were largely attended. Some time before the 
reception on New Year's Day, I had received a formal note 
from the President to be present in the Blue Room on that day. 

PRESIDENT MC KINLEY 

Early in February, 1897, President Cleveland sent a cordial 
and gracious letter to Mr. McKinley, his successor, with an 
invitation to dine at the White House on the eve of his inaugur- 
ation, to which the President-Elect replied in the most appreci- 
ative manner, and those who know assert there was sincerity in 
the exchange of greetings between the two men, each of whom 
entertained genuine good feelings of respect and admiration 
for the other, notwithstanding their diverse political opinions. 
When Mr. McKinley was inaugurated as President of the 
United States, March 4, 1897, we were sent special tickets of 
admission to the Senate wing to witness the impressive cere- 
monies. Our new President was soon confronted with perplex- 
ing and delicate problems. His first act was to issue a call for 
an extra session of Congress to revise the Wilson tariff ; all his 
close friends knew that Mr. McKinley regarded this as the 
principal cause of business depression in the preceding four 
years. 

Although there was a medical officer on duty at the White 
House, the state of Mrs. McKinley 's heahh was such that Gen- 
eral Sternberg was asked to see her frequently and advise in 
regard to her care and medical treatment. The call for these 
visits came almost daily as Mrs. McKinley was constantly over- 
taxed by the strain of social duties. In years of intimate asso- 
ciation we learned to love and esteem President McKinley and 
his wife very highly. It is the opinion of all who knew the 
President, that the happiness of his invalid wife was at all 
time^ his first thought. We were frequently with them for 
informal family and holiday dinners. They received in the red 
parlor, as it was then known, and we generally found them 
during the winter evenings before the open hearth fire, made 
from drift wood sent bv a devoted friend from the coast of 



SURGEON-GENERAL 143 

Massachusetts. There was always a most cheerful greeting 
awaiting one. I shall not soon forget one Christmas dinner: 
The turkey was a large one, and it was sent to the table on a 
platter for the President to carve. He did this in a very skilful 
manner, making merry meanwhile, in full enjoyment of the 
holiday spirit. Later in the evening other intimate friends came, 
and we were all invited to the blue room, where we disported 
with music, singing and a cotillion. 

One of my great treasures is a personal note from President 
McKinley to be present in the blue parlor during the reception 
on New Year's Day. With what pride and interest I watched 
him greet his fellowmen on that day ! Courteous in manner at 
all times, he had the correct bearing and dignity which one likes 
to observe in the President of our great Republic. The sun 
shone brightly that day and many people came to pay their 
respects during the reception. A number greater than usual 
having been received, the officer in charge of the ceremony 
informed the President that the time for closing had arrived. 
The President asked: "How many are outside waiting?" The 
officer replied that the line was long and there must yet be 
hundreds. "Let them come," said Mr. McKinley, 'T do not 
wish to feel that any one has been shut out and disappointed." 



CHAPTER TWELVE 

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS AT MOSCOW 

In the spring of 1897, General Sternberg received unofficial 
information that, at the request of the Secretary of State, he 
would most likely be designated as one of the official delegates 
from the United States to the International Medical Congress 
to be held in Moscow, from August 19 to 26. Official notice of 
their selection as delegates came to General Sternberg and 
Deputy Surg.-Gen. David L. Huntington, March 12, and a few 
months later the following additional in-^tnutions were for- 
warded by the Adjutant-General : 

Sir: — 

I have the honor to inform you that in complying with so 
much of paragraph 3, Special Orders Xo. 58, March 12th, 1897, 
from this office, as requires you to attend the Twelfth Interna- 
tional Medical Congress, to be held in Moscow, Russia, in 
August next, the Secretary of War directs as necessary to the 
public service, that you proceed via Hamburg, Copenhagen, 
Stockholm and St. Petersburg, and that upon the adjourn- 
ment of the Congress you return via Warsaw. \'ienna, Munich, 
Strassburg, Paris and Cherbourg. 

\*ery respectfully, 
Geo. D. Ruggles, Adjutant General. 

General Sternberg, always anxious that I should enjoy the 
benefit of travel, invited me to accompany him. In order to 
comply with the instructions from the War Department we left 
New York, July 21, on the S.S. Fttcrst Bismarck for Hamburg. 
Although the morning of our departure was dreary, we enjoyed 
fine weather all the way over, and arrived in excellent spirits 
at Plymouth at 4 a. m., July 29, making Cherbourg at 11 :30 
the same morning. We arrived at Cuxhaven at noon on the 
next day and departed by train for Hamburg, where we arrived 
at 6 :30 p. m. In Hamburg we stopped at the Hotel Kronprinz 
where we were made most comfortable, resuming our travels 
August 1. Our journey was by rail to Kiel, thence by boat to 
Kossar, where we entrained for Copenhagen. Leaving Copen- 
hagen at 10 a. m., August 4, we proceeded by boat to Malmo, 
and from there by train to Stockholm. This stretch was ver>- 



MEDICAL CONGRESS AT MOSCOW 145 

interesting, for we passed through a fertile, beautiful country, 
the fields of which were full of golden shocks of newly har- 
vested grain. At 9 : 30 we stopped for supper at a large restau- 
rant, where we were first introduced to a system of table service 
now familiar to patrons of a "cafeteria." 

We arrived at Stockholm the following morning, and drove 
to the Grand Hotel. A large fair was going on in the city at 
that time, which gave us an excellent opportunity to observe 
the customs of the Swedish people. The costumes of some of 
the peasants we found very interesting, many being quite becom- 
ing and picturesque. The thing I enjoyed most was taking our 
after dinner coffee in the public garden, to the strains of music 
furnished by the military band. I was amazed at the long 
twilight, for at 10 o'clock it was still quite bright. We left 
Stockholm by the Russian S.S. Nord Kustou for St. Peters- 
burg. Unfortunately we had failed to make timely reservations 
of staterooms and the steamer was greatly crowded. Thanks 
to our special passes and letters from the Secretary of State, the 
captain very courteously assigned his room to me and Mrs. 
W. K. Van Reypen (wife of the Surgeon-General of the Navy, 
the delegate appointed to represent the Medical Department of 
the Navy). General Sternberg and Admiral Van Reypen were 
given resting places for the night on a divan in the dining room. 
We enjoyed a fine run among the beautiful islands of the 
Baltic to Abo, the former capital of Finland, dating its birth to 
1157. At the time of our visit it had a population of about 
33,000. We drove in a "droshky" around the city, and visited 
the famous church of St. Mary on the Aura, north of Abo. 
Our steamer continued on a fine passage among the many 
islands to Hango, a favorite water resort for English tourists. 

We arrived at Helsingfors August 12, and to our great satis- 
faction we were able to get a stateroom on the steamer at that 
port, as many of the passengers left at Helsingfors. The city 
was beautifully clean and mostly new, for after the burning of 
the city in the subjugation to Russia, the government sent Ger- 
mans to plan a new capital, and the buildings that were then 
constructed reflect credit on the engineers and architects. 
The city boasted a splendid university with an enrolment of 
about 2,500 students in the various departments, about one fifth 
of whom are women. 



146 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Our steamer pitched terribly in the Gulf of Finland and we 
were exceedingly glad to arrive at Cronstadt on the morning 
of August 13, enjoying a fine view of the port and the war 
vessels lying there. We were now growing anxious to reach 
St. Petersburg, which we did at 8 o'clock the following morning. 
As our baggage was to be inspected by a Russian officer on board 
the steamer, Mrs. Van Reypen and I kept watch over the hand 
luggage, while General Sternberg and Admiral Van Reypen 
went below to supervise examination of the trunks. \'ery soon 
a servant came hastily into the cabin, seized our small bags and 
rushed to the gang plank ; I followed him to the wharf. He 
hastily dropped the bags, and ran back to the steamer. I looked 
around, but I saw only an excited surging crowd, not one 
friendly face, and no passport in my possession. I could not 
return to the vessel, and Mrs. \'an Reypen was prohibited from 
leaving the ship, and the situation caused me some excitement. 
An officer came up, apparently in a friendly spirit to aid me. 
Alas ! We spoke no common language. I spoke French, he 
replied in German ; I spoke no German, and he did not under- 
stand English. After considerable delay, as is usual in cus- 
toms proceedings, I was joined by the other members of our 
party. With one exception all laughed at my experience ; I 
could see no humor in the occurrence. We took a "droshky" 
and drove to the Hotel de France, where we found very com- 
fortable quarters during our entire stay. Our passports were 
taken by the hotel clerk, and by this token the hotel seemed to 
have assumed entire responsibility for our good conduct, for we 
did not again see the passports until we were leaving the city. 

St. Petersburg was built almost at the command of one man, 
and strikes a stranger as a brilliant display of domes, pinnacles 
and churches. We walked and shopped on gay "Nevsky Pros- 
pekt," where the shop windows are ablaze with diamonds and 
precious stones, where the display of beautiful furs is in keep- 
ing with other gorgeous and rich things. St. Isaacs, located in 
the Alexander Garden near the great Admiralty Building, takes 
precedence among the churches ; its main cupola and the sur- 
rounding lantern and cross are overlaid by 200 pounds of gold 
leaf. The pillars on the porticos are sixty feet high, each a 
single shaft of exquisite Finland granite, while over all rises an 
immense bronze dome, in keeping with the general architecture. 



MEDICAL CONGRESS AT MOSCOW 147 

The interior is set off with columns of lapis-lazuli and mala- 
chite, and rare paintings and brilliantly jeweled ikons adorn the 
walls. The worshipers kneel on the cold marble floor, and 
during the service they touch the marble paving stones with 
their brows in reverence. We also visited the "Hermitage," the 
house of Peter the Great, the Winter Palace, and the Church of 
Peter and Paul in the fort, where are buried all the czars of 
Russia (except Peter II, who removed the court to Moscow, 
and died there of smallpox). Each sarcophagus in this church 
bears the name of a sleeping czar or his consort, and is dis- 
tinguished by the double eagle and the "eternal light." 

We left St. Petersburg with regret, and turned our faces 
toward Moscow, reaching there August 18. Officials of the 
Congress arranged for our comfort at the Knagi Dvor (Princes 
Hotel), a new club house which had been placed at their dis- 
posal. We found this to be a beautiful, new, up-to-date build- 
ing, and we were assigned to a charming suite, consisting of 
two bed rooms, a large dining room, reception room, with a 
balcony and an inviting entrance hall. 

On the morning of the 19th, General Sternberg and Admiral 
Van Reypen attended the opening session of the Twelfth 
International Congress of Medicine, which was held in an 
immense and beautiful theater with five tiers of boxes. They 
were both very much interested in the program of the congress, 
which they attended at every session. General Sternberg 
enjoyed immensely not only the scientific program, but also 
the personal contact with men whom he knew by correspondence 
and with the military medical officers representing other coun- 
tries. One evening, soon after he had registered as a member 
of the congress, when we were alone, he told me that all the 
Surgeon-Generals representing other nations held the rank of 
Major-General, that he was the only Brigadier-General as the 
chief of the medical corps of an army, and the others knowing 
of his achievements had expressed surprise that his Govern- 
ment had not rewarded him accordingly. Before parting com- 
pany the military surgeons present in the congress had a group 
photograph taken, of which General Sternberg brought me a 
beautiful copy. I was pleased with it for it was a fine group 
of men, but I said : "Why, my dear, you are in the front seat 
in the front row." This seemed to me extraordinary, for he 



148 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

was always a very modest, unassuming man. He looked at 
me with a happy twinkle in his brown eyes, and replied, "I am 
in that position because the military surgeons representing other 
countries placed me there. When I remonstrated they said : 
'that is where you belong, in the very front of medical science 
of the present day.' " 

The adjournment of the congress and the time for our 
departure soon arrived, and we packed our baggage to turn 
our faces homeward. Washington was beckoning us across the 
water, and General Sternberg was very anxious to resume his 
duties and be again at home. We left Moscow on the evening 
of August 25, on our way to Warsaw, arriving there on the 
28th, and proceeding to Vienna. While the trip to Vienna 
was interesting. General Sternberg was disappointed on reach- 
ing there in not finding his professional friends whom he wished 
particularly to see in or near X'ienna. They were still far away 
at their country places. But for me the city was charming, 
beautiful and gay and most fascinating even in summer. 
Admiral and Mrs. Van Rcypen had gone to Paris by way 
of Berlin and had arranged for us to stop with them at the 
Hotel Chatham. Here we met again September 5, and while 
we ladies went shopping, our husbands visited professional 
friends, military hospitals, the military medical school, and the 
museum of hygiene at \'al de Grace. 

On the morning of September 17, we left Paris at 8:45 for 
Cherbourg. There we went at once on board the tender and 
steamed out behind the breakers to wait for the S.S. Columbia, 
which was to carry us back to our home. 




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CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL 
ASSOCIATION 

Despite the fact that the administrative duties in the Surgeon- 
General's Office occupied him fully, General Sternberg main- 
tained an active interest in the work of medical and scientific 
societies. He frequently attended the meetings of the Medi- 
cal Society, the Biological Society and the Philosophical 
Society of the District of Columbia, before each of which he 
occasionally read addresses on some aspect of scientific medi- 
cine. He took a prominent part in the work of the American 
Public Health Association, and he was a familiar figure at the 
meetings of the American Medical Association and the Asso- 
ciation of Military Surgeons of the United States. At one time 
or another he had been elected president of each of these 
societies, and he was, in addition, member and ex-president 
of the Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis of the 
District of Columbia and of the Cosmos Club, chairman of the 
President's Homes Commission, president of the section on 
military medicine of the Pan-American Medical Congress, 
honorary member of the American Association of Physicians, 
the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American 
Academy of Medicine, the Epidemiological Society of London, 
the Academy of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro and the French 
Society of Hygiene, and fellow of the New York Academy of 
Medicine and, by courtesy, of Johns Hopkins University. The 
honorary degree of LL.D was conferred on him, in 1894, by the 
University of Michigan and, in 1897, by Brown University. 
General Sternberg was not insensible to the honors which 
his medical confreres and scientific co-workers had bestowed 
on him, but none brought him more lasting satisfaction than 
his election as president of the American Medical Association 
at its semi-centennial meeting in Philadelphia, June 4, 1897. 
His personal friends regarded the election as a recognition of 
his scientific attainments by the representative body of Ameri- 
can physicians. During his incumbency, General Sternberg 
kept in close touch with the executive offices of the Association 



150 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

and found great satisfaction in the progressive spirit which 
was manifest in its campaign for the elimination of inferior 
schools and the adoption of a higher standard of medical edu- 
cation, for the suppression of the nostrum evil and for the 
instruction of the public in matters pertaining to hygiene. 
Unfortunately, our country was at war with Spain in the spring 
of 1898, and to his keen regret, General Sternberg was pre- 
vented by the duties of his office from attending the meeting 
of the Association at Denver. He had, however, prepared an 
address which was read by his friend and colleague, Colonel 
Alfred A. Woodhull. In this paper, General Sternberg was at 
his best ; in it are attested his sincere devotion to the cause of 
scientific medicine and advanced medical education, as will 
appear from a few extracts, 

EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 

Scientific medicine, being founded upon demonstrable truths, 
must in the end maintain itself and secure the confidence of 
the people. But when the results of scientific research are 
rejected through ignorance of the experimental data upon 
which they are founded, and the layman hears contradictory 
professional opinions about matters which the well informed 
knows to be definitely settled, he may be excused for not differ- 
entiating so sharply as we are disposed to do between regulars 
and irregulars. To maintain our standing in the estimation of 
the educated classes we must not rely upon our diplomas or 
upon our membership in medical societies, but must show our- 
selves superior in knowledge and in professional resources to 
the ignorant pretender or to the g^-aduate of a medical school 
which is bound in its teachings by an untenable creed, adopted 
before the light of science had taught physicians to reject 
theories and the dicta of authorities in favor of truths demon- 
strated by modern methods of research. There are those who 
still speak of us as "old school physicians," ignorant apparently 
of the fact that scientific medicine is to a great extent of very 
recent origin, and that all of the great discoveries in relation 
to the etiolog\*, prevention and specific treatment of infectious 
diseases, and nearly all the improved methods and instrumental 
appliances for clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment have 
had their origin within the ranks of the regular profession. 
While, therefore, we still have with us some **old school doc- 
tors," who have fallen behind the procession, the profession 
as a whole has been moving forward with incredible activity 
upon the substantial basis of scientific research, and if we are 
to be characterized by any distinctive name, the only one appli- 
cable would be "tfw nnv school of scientific medicine." Not 



AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 151 

that our science is complete, for we have still many things to 
leam and many problems which have thus far resisted all 
efforts at their solution; but we have learned how to attack 
these problems and no one any longer expects that they can 
be solved by the exercise of the reasoning powers and the facile 
use of the pen. 

EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC 

Through many years General Sternberg was wont to 
give public lectures on topics relating to sanitation and 
hygiene. He considered it the function of the physician to 
popularize knowledge regarding infectious diseases and pre- 
ventive medicine, and to this end he took infinite pains to make 
his own lectures on such subjects entertaining and informative. 

The old saying has it that "the pen is mightier than the 
sword." This is no doubt true in politics, but in science the 
pen is a feeble instrument compared with the test tube, the 
microscope, the chemical balance, etc. Nevertheless, I am 
about to advise well-informed physicians to make greater use 
of the pen, not for the elucidation of these problems which 
remain to be solved, but for the puqx)se of calling the atten- 
tion of the nonmedical portion of the community to the recent 
achievements of scientific medicine. It is a remarkable and 
lamentable fact that persons belonging to the so-called educated 
classes are grossly ignorant as regards the present status of 
medical science. They not only speak of us as "old school doc- 
tors," but they entrust their lives and those of their children 
to pseudo-scientists who, taking advantage of popular interest 
in the great discoveries of the day, make extravagant claims as 
to the curative power of electricity, the X-ray, oxygen, ozone 
or some wonderful miracle destroyer. Or, ignoring the exact 
knowledge which has been gained by experience and painstak- 
ing researches with reference to the etiology of various dis- 
eases and the curative action of approved therapeutic agents, 
they accept the vagaries of the osteopath and the christian 
scientist as representing the latest development of scientific 
progress in medicine. The false assertions and claims of igno- 
rant enthusiasts and conscienceless vampires, as a rule, pass 
unchallenged. Not only are they able to impose upon a gullible 
public through their published advertisements, but articles writ- 
ten by them or for them appear in the columns of reputable 
newspapers. The ever-present and irresponsible newspaper 
reporter espouses their cause through ignorance or for gain and 
their wonderful cures are related and copied from one paper 
to another without any competent critic raising his voice to 
show the fallacy of the claims. Again, positive denials of the 



152 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

well-established achievements of scientific medicine are often 
made, unfortunately too often, by men who are authorized to 
attach the letters M.D. to their signatures. 

THE NOSTRUM EVIL 

It was also necessary and desirable to instruct the lait>' in 
regard to the nostrum evil for there were always unscrupulous 
quacks preying on the gullible members of the community. 

For the illiterate and even for many of the so-called educated 
class the whole of medicine consists in the cure of disease by 
medicines, or by some agency, natural or supernatural, and a 
failure to cure is evidence that medicine is not a science. We 
readily admit that the cure of disease is one of the principal 
objects which medical science has in view, and that from a 
scientific standpoint therapeutics is ver)' much behind some of 
the other branches of medicine. This is shown by the diversity 
of remedies prescribed for certain diseases, and the failure 
of any one of these remedies to effect a cure in many cases. 
But on the other hand, therapeutics has made great advances 
during recent years and by the application of scientific methods 
of research, the exact value of alleged remedies and of various 
methods of treatment is now determined with far greater pre- 
cision than formerly. 

The fact that a considerable proportion of those who are sick 
from various acute or chronic ailments recover after a time, 
independently of the use of medicinal agents or methods of 
treatment taken in connection with this tendency to ascribe 
recover}^ to the treatment employed, makes it an easy matter 
to obtain certificates of cure for any nostrum which an unprin- 
cipled money-seeker may see fit to oflFer a credulous public. 

ENEMIES OF SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE 

Sincere but misguided enthusiasts were banded together to 
obstruct scientific medicine: the campaigns against vaccination 
and animal experimentation were often unwittingly aided by 
haphazard statements of certain thoughtless physicians. Even 
physicians of reputation were sometimes wont to refute new 
discoveries in advance of careful study and thorough trial, and 
such denial served only to confound the general public and to 
fortify the position of the enemies of medicine. 

As a result the anti-vaccination and anti-vivisection societies 
are able to fortify their position by quoting the opinions of 
medical men of more or less repute. But opinions are of no 
value when opposed to evidence, and it seems to me that those 
familiar with the evidence would do well to give to the public 
concise and comprehensible statements, suitable for publica- 



AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 153 

tion in newspapers and popular magazines, setting forth the 
facts and the evidence upon which these facts are accepted by 
well-informed physicians. But in doing so, great care should 
be taken not to make any assertions that are not based upon 
reliable data. 

Whenever any new discovery in medicine is announced some 
conservative physicians, and often men of reputation in the 
profession, are sure to commit themselves to a positive denial 
of the alleged fact. This occurred when the discovery of the 
tubercle bacillus was announced by Koch, it has occurred with 
reference to the treatment of diphtheria by antitoxin, and to 
the preventive treatment of hydrophobia by Pasteur's method. 
Yet these discoveries are based upon experimental evidence of 
the most unimpeachable character. To deny their reliabiHty 
at the present day is simply to show ignorance of the nature 
of this evidence or a failure to appreciate its scientific value. 
Often the positive and premature statements of a physician 
relating to new discoveries in medicine are corrected, or at least 
regretted, at a later date ; but sometimes the pride of opinion 
prevents a retraction in the face of the most conclusive evi- 
dence. The result is that such opinions, although they may 
have been given years ago, are always available to controvert 
the statements of those who maintain the value of vaccination, 
of experiments on the lower animals, of the diphtheria anti- 
toxin, etc., and the non-medical public very often accept the 
opinions which coincide with their preconceived views, or 
arrive at the conclusion that there is nothing settled in our 
so-called medical science. 

HIGHER STAND.KRDS OF MKDICAL EDUCATION 

This evil could best be remedied by elevating the standard of 
medical education, by training the modem physician in the 
laboratory sciences in order to inculcate respect for experi- 
mental evidence as opposed to the dictum of self-constituted 
authority. On this point General Sternberg said: 

It should be our aim to remedy this evil by elevating the 
standard of medical education, as we are doing in many parts 
of the country, by impressing upon the rising generation of 
physicians the importance of laboratory work not only as a 
means of instruction, but for the purpose of cultivating a 
scientific spirit of inquiry and just appreciation of the value of 
experimental evidence; and, finally, by instructing the public 
with reference to the present status of scientific medicine, the 
difference between fact and fancy, between the vagaries of the 
imagination and the demonstrable results of scientific 
investigation. 



154 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

With the progress of scientific medicine, we have improved 
methods of teaching, and it is now generally recognized that 
reading medical books and listening to lectures is not a suffi- 
cient preparation for the practice of medicine, any more than 
the reading of books on navigation would be for the respons- 
ible position of captain of an ocean steamer. It is for this 
reason that we insist upon the study of anatomy in the dissect- 
ing room, the teaching of methods of diagnosis and treatment 
at the bedside, and of chemistr>', physiology and pathology in 
the laboratory. It is only within the last few years that our 
leading medical colleges have provided suitable facilities for 
practical laborator>' work and even at the present day, as I 
understand, the laboratory courses are not compulsory in some 
institutions which provide for a four years' course of study 
as a requisite for receiving the degree of doctor of medicine. 
From my point of view these laborator>' courses are a most 
essential part of the medical curriculum, not only because the 
student becomes familiar with the use of instruments and 
methods which will be of inestimable value to him in the prac- 
tice of his profession, but especially because of the effect of 
the kind of training he there receives in enabling him to judge 
of the imperfections of our unaided senses and the small value 
of opinions in comparison with that of facts capable of demon- 
stration ; as also the relative importance of many things which 
to the superficial observer might appear to be insignificant and 
unworthy of attention. He learns not to accept the assertion 
of the professor if this is in conflict with the experimental 
evidence which he is able to verify for himself. On the other 
hand, he learns not to have an overweening confidence in his 
own judgment and powers of observation. He may fail to 
demonstrate the flagella on the t>'phoid bacillus, or the presence 
of the Plasmodium in the blood of a malarial fever case, or of a 
trace of arsenic in the tissues of one who died with symptoms 
of arsenical poisoning, but having learned by repeated investi- 
gation that the failure was due to his want of expert skill in 
the use of the microscope or in the application of delicate meth- 
ods of investigation, he learns that it is unscientific and 
injudicious to give a premature opinion in regard to any sub- 
ject under investigation, and especially so when this opinion is 
based upon negative evidence. . . . 

I have spoken of the danger of arriving at hasty conclusions 
upon negative evidence, and wish now to call attention to the 
fact that physicians too often fail to recognize the value of 
negative evidence as opposed to the deductions made from 
facts coming under their immediate observation. Thus, a case 
of paralysis following diphtheria may be ascribed to the admin- 
istration of diphtheria antitoxin, but in view of the fact that 
paralysis often follows dipththeria when no antitoxin has been 



AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 155 

given, and of the negative evidence relating to the administra- 
tion of the antitoxin in thousands of cases and in immunizing 
doses in other thousands of individuals, the deduction in a 
particular case that paralysis and the administration of anti- 
toxin stand in the relation of cause and effect may well be 
doubted. Again, when a case of yellow fever occurs in one 
of our seaport cities, failure to trace the channel of infection 
has not infrequently led to the inference that the disease was 
of local origin. The fallacy here depends upon the assumption 
that the investigation has excluded all possible avenues for the 
importation of the infectious material from a foreign source, 
and a want of appreciation of the negative evidence which 
shows that yellow fever epidemics never have their origin at 
interior towns, and that they do not originate at towns on the 
sea-coast which have no foreign commerce. As well might we 
conclude, as perhaps some have done, that a case of smallpox 
is of de novo origin because the physician who sought to find 
the source of contagion was unable to do so. The negative 
evidence, relating to the non-occurrence of smallpox among 
persons not exposed directly or indirectly to contagion, is so 
conclusive that the profession accepts it as a fact that this dis- 
ease does not originate independently of a previous case. 

FOUNDATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE 

Evidently scientific medicine must be founded upon an exact 
knowledge of the structure (anatomy) and functions (physiol- 
ogy) of the human body in a healthy condition and of the 
changes in structure and function (pathology) which result 
from various disease processes; of the causes (etiology), 
natural history (clinical medicine) and regional distribution 
(medical geography) of the diseases which afHict mankind and 
the lower animals (comparative pathology) ; of the toxic action 
of various substances from the animal and vegetable kingdom 
(toxicology), and of the use of these and of other non-toxic 
substances, physical agents, etc., in the treatment of disease 
(therapeutics) and of the prevention of disease by disinfection, 
quarantine, protective inoculations, etc. (prophylaxis). . . . 

While scientific medicine could not exist independently of 
these fundamental branches, they simply constitute the basis 
upon which the superstructure has been reared, to a large 
extent during the last half of the present century. The histo- 
logic changes which occur as a result of various disease pro- 
cesses, were unknown and unknowable in advance of the inven- 
tion of the compound microscope, and the same is true as 
regards the etiology of infectious diseases. 

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 

Scientific medicine has as its ultimate goal the eradicatioa of 
all preventable disease by the united efforts of trained labora- 



156 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

tory workers and practical sanitarians. In General Sternberg's 
opinion, the advancement of preventive medicine is a measure 
of the progress of medical science. 

Where thousands have been saved by the timely adminis- 
tration of suitable medicines, or by the skilfully performed 
operation of the surgeons, tens of thousands have been saved 
by preventive medicine. And preventive medicine is today 
established upon a strictly scientific foundation. If our prac- 
tice was pari passu with our knowledge, infectious diseases 
should be almost unknown in civilized countries, and those 
degenerative changes of vital organs which result from excesses 
of various kinds would cease to play the leading part in our 
mortuary statistics. But while our knowledge is still incom- 
plete in some directions, and while individuals and communities 
constantly fail to act in accordance with the well-established 
laws of health and the scientific data which furnish the basis 
of preventive medicine, the saving of life directly traceable to 
this knowledge is enormous. 

Smallpox no longer claims its victims in any considerable 
numbers except in communities where vaccination is neglected ; 
cholera has been excluded from our country during the last 
two widespread epidemics in Europe and its ravages have been 
greatly restricted in all civilized countries into which it has been 
introciuced ; the deadly plague of the seventeenth and eight- 
eenth centuries is no longer known in Europe, and the preva- 
lence of typhus (so-called "spotted" or "ship fever") has been 
greatly limited. Typhoid fever, tuberculosis and diplitheria 
are still with us and claim numerous victims, but we know the 
specific cause of each of these diseases ; we know where to find 
the bacteria which cause them and the channels by which they 
gain access to the human body, and we know how to destroy 
them by the use of disinfecting agents. 

The mortality from tuberculosis is constantly diminishing in 
our large cities, and the complete destruction of the infectious 
sputa of those suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis would no 
doubt go a long way toward the extermination of this fatal 
disease. 

For a long time vaccination as a means of preventing small- 
pox stood as a solitary example of prophylaxis by inoculation 
with an attenuated virus. But Pasteur and others following 
in his footsteps have shown us that protective inoculations 
may be successfully practiced in several of the infectious dis- 
eases of the lower animals. HafFkine's cholera inoculations 
appear to have been attended with considerable success, and 
recent experiments in inoculating susceptible persons with cul- 
tures of the typhoid bacillus give some encouragement to the 



AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 157 

belief that they may be rendered immune against typhoid fever 
by this method. That children may be rendered immune 
against diphtheria by comparatively small doses of the anti- 
toxin is well established. The value of Pasteur's method of 
inoculation for the prevention of hydrophobia in persons bit- 
ten by rabid animals is now generally recognized by well- 
informed physicians. 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 

During the Spanish-American War, General Sternberg met 
all the increased demands upon his corps with efficiency in the 
face of legislative embarrassment and administrative obstacles, 
establishing a corps of female nurses for service in permanent 
hospitals, increasing the medical staff by officers selected from 
the Association of Military Surgeons, and afterwards super- 
vising the organization of medical service in our tropical 
possessions.^ 

At the International Medical Congress at Moscow in 1897, 
discussion of the experiences of the medical departments of the 
foreign armies and navies had given General Sternberg renewed 
inspiration and incentive. He hoped that he might be able to 
induce the country to adopt the best of tried measures. His 
efforts were doomed to repeated disappointment. Congress 
was at the time greatly absorbed in the subject of fiscal economy 
and instead of increasing the Medical Corps, there seemed to 
be a determined effort to reduce its numbers. Recommenda- 
tions for appropriations were ignored and there was little 
interest in military preparedness. Even in 1897 it was clearly 
seen by Army men that war with Spain was inevitable, and it 
was apparent that we should prepare for the contingency. But 
recommendations to Congress were sterile of result until war 
was actually on us. 

March 9, 18^8, Congress appropriated "for national defense" 
the sum of $50,000,000 — no part of which sum was to be avail- 
able for offensive purposes, even for offensive preparations. 
The fund, although placed at the President's disposal, was con- 
fined to expenditures for purposes literally within the foregoing 
limitation. Under this interpretation of the Act, it was permis- 
sible to hasten the work on the coast fortifications, plans for 
which had been formulated and sanctioned by Congress, but no 
new projects could be initiated. In comparison with the other 
bureaus of the War Department, however, the Ordnance, 
Engineer and Signal Corps were given favorable consideration. 



1. McCulloch. Col. C. C; Scientific Monthly 4:414 (May) lOli 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 159 

General Sternberg's official report on the activities of the Medi- 
cal Department during the war portrays the difficulties under 
which he labored. 

The Quartermaster, Commissary and Medical departments 
up to April 23, 1898, had been denied the privilege of endeavor. 
Under the President's interpretation of ''national defense," 
these had not been permitted to take a step out of the ordinary 
routine. They could not procure or order any equipment, 
clothing, tentage, harness, commissary stores, or medical and 
hospital supplies, camp furniture and other materials in excess 
of the ordinary supply as of March 9, 1898. 

War was declared on April 21, 1898, when Minister Wood- 
ford was handed his passport at Madrid. The formal declara- 
tion of war by Congress April 25, contains the statement "that 
war has existed since the 21st day of April." 

April 22>, the President issued a call for 125,000 volunteers 
and within twenty-four hours the nation was aflame. Tenders 
for service came by the hundreds of thousands. It is safe to 
say that a million men offered themselves, where 125,000 had 
been called. 

On the first of April, 1898, our standing Army consisted of 
2,143 officers and 26,040 men, a small nucleus about which had 
to be organized the great army for 1898. With this small 
organization we were to muster and equip, organize and mobi- 
lize, not only the first increment of volunteers but all subsequent 
levies aggregating with the regular army approximately 275,000 
men. The number of medical officers of the regular Army 
(192) was totally inadequate even in time of peace, while this 
number included the fifteen additional Assistant Surgeons 
authorized by the Act approved May 12, 1898. Later in May 
there were thirteen vacancies. Of the remaining officers, six 
were engaged in administrative duties in the office of the Sur- 
geon General, and in superintendence of the Army Medical 
Museum and Library and Army Medical School ; eleven were 
on duty at medical supply depots, and as chief surgeons of mili- 
tary departments ; one at the United States Soldiers' Home ; 
fifty-six at general hospitals and at garrisoned posts ; one as 
colonel of a volunteer regiment [Dr. (now General) Leonard 
Wood] ; while four were disabled. One hundred officers were 
thus left for field service, five of whom were placed on duty as 
chief surgeons of Army Corps; thirty-six as brigade surgeons 
of volunteers and fifty-nine as regimental surgeons and assist- 
ants with the regular troops. The insufficiency of the last men- 
tioned number was made up by assignment of medical men 
under contract. It should be added that the Hospital Corps 
consisted of 72?> enlisted men. All volunteer regiments had 



160 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

three medical officers appointed by the governors of states; 
volunteer surgeons to fill the staff positions authorized by the 
Act of approval April 22, 1898, were appointed by the Presi- 
dent. There were in all eight corps surgeons with the rank 
of Lieutenant-Colonel, and one hundred and ten division and 
brigade surgeons with the rank of Major, five of the former 
and thirty-six of the latter positions were filled by the appoint- 
ment of officers of the Army Medical Department. The Presi- 
dent also appointed three medical officers for each of the regi- 
ments of the United States V'olunteers, infantr>% cavalr>' and 
engineers. As a very small proportion of these medical officers 
had military experience, the efficiency of the department was 
impaired at the outset, but very many of the staff surgeons from 
civil life showed great aptitude for the service and s|>eedily 
became of value as administrative officers. 

In less than thirty days practically all of 125,000 volunteers 
of the first call had been mustered in, and together with the 
available regular troops were mobilized at Tampa, Mobile, 
Washington and Chickamauga Park. May 25, less than five 
weeks after the first call, an expedition sailed from San Fran- 
cisco for the Philippines. In less than seven weeks an army 
of 17,000 set out for Santiago. Owing to the limited number 
of officers and the great amount of work to be accomplished 
"the War Department requested authority from Congress to 
issue commissions for active service to retired officers. This 
authority Congress denied. From the regular army, there- 
fore, was taken the minimum of officers consistent with the 
efficiency of every branch, an efficiency that is the rock upon 
which this country must always build its hopes for effective 
operations during the first few months of any war in which it 
may be engaged so long as the militia is organized as it now is. 

General Sternberg realized very fully the difficulties, dan- 
gers and far-reaching consequences incident to the enrolment 
of medical officers, who had neither training in military hygiene, 
camp sanitation, or in medicomilitary administration in gen- 
eral. With less than 200 regular medical officers and no time 
to place newly appointed medical officers in schools of instruc- 
tion, General Sternberg could only place the best men of his 
corps in positions of responsibility, where they would be able 
to instruct and direct the new appointees. Two important cir- 
culars for the information and guidance of the Medical Corps 
were issued ; one almost immediately after the declaration of 
the state of war. 



SPAXISH-AMERICAN WAR 161 

CIRCULAR NO. 1 

Surgeon General's Office, 
Washington, April 25, 1898. 

In time of war a great responsibility rests upon medical offi- 
cers of the Army, for the result of a campaign may depend upon 
the sanitary measures adopted or neglected by commanding 
generals of armies in the field. The medical officer is respon- 
sible for proper recommendations relating to the protection of 
the health of troops in camp or in garrison, and it is believed 
that as a rule, medical officers of the United States Army are 
well informed as to the necessary measures of prophylaxis and 
the serious results which infallibly follow a neglect of these 
measures especially when unacclimated troops are called upon 
for service in a tropical or semitropical country during the 
sickly season. In Cuba our armies will have to contend not 
only with malarial fevers and the usual camp diseases — typhoid 
fever, diarrhea and dysentery — but they will be more or less 
exposed in localities where yellow fever is endemic and under 
conditions extremely favorable for the development of an 
epidemic among unacclimated troops. In view of this danger, 
the attention of medical officers and of all others responsible 
for the health of our troops in the field, is invited to the fol- 
lowing recommendations : 

When practicable camps should be established on high and 
well-drained ground not having been previously occupied. 

Sinks should be dug before a camp is occupied, or as soon 
after as practicable. 

The surface of fecal matter should be covered with fresh 
earth or quicklime or ashes three times a day. 

New sinks should be dug and old ones filled when the con- 
tents of the old ones are two feet from the surface of the 
ground. 

Every man should be punished who fails to make use of the 
sinks. 

All kitchen refuse should be promptly buried and perfect 
sanitary police maintained. 

Troops should drink only boiled or filtered water, coffee or 
tea (hot, not cold) except when spring water can be obtained 
which is pronounced to be wholesome by a medical officer. 

Every case of fever should receive prompt attention. If 
albumen is found in the urine of a patient with fever it should 
be considered suspicious (of yellow fever) and he should be 
placed in an isolated tent. The discharge of patients with fever 
should always be disinfected at once with a solution of car- 
bolic acid (5 per cent.) or of chlorid of lime (6 ounces to the 
gallon of water) or with milk of lime, made from fresh 
quicklime. 



162 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Whenever a case of yellow fever occurs in camp, the troops 
should be promptly moved to a fresh camping ground located 
a mile or more from the infected camp. 

No doubt typhoid fever, camp diarrhea, and probably yellow 
fever are frequently communicated to soldiers in camp through 
the agency of flies, which swarm about fecal matter and filth 
of all kinds deposited upon the ground or in shallow pits, and 
directly convey infectious material, attached to their feet or 
contained in their excreta, to the food which is exposed while 
being prepared at the company kitchens or while being served 
in the mess tent. It is for this reason that a strict sanitary 
police is so important. Also because the water supply may be 
contaminated in the same way, or by the surface drainage. 

If it can be avoided, marches should not be made in the hot- 
test part of the day — from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. 

When called upon for duty at night or early in the morning 
a cup of hot cofi'ee should be taken. It is unsafe to eat heartily 
or drink freely when greatly fatigued or overheated. 

Ripe fruit may be eaten in moderation, but green or overripe 
fruit will give rise to bowel complaints. Food should be thor- 
oughly cooked and free from fermentation or putrefactive 
changes. 

In decidedly malarious localities from 3 to 5 grains of quinine 
may be taken in the early morning as a prophylactic, but the 
taking of quinine as a routine practice should only be recom- 
mended under exceptional circumstances. 

Light woolen underclothing should be worn and when a 
soldier's clothing or bedding becomes damp from exposure to 
rain or heavy dews the first opportunity should be taken to dry 
it in the sun or by fires. 

A noted sanitarian in addressing the Medical Society of the 
District of Columbia in October, 1898, said : "Had the lessons 
of the Civil War and the note of warning sounded by Surgeon- 
General Sternberg in his famous circular of April 25, 1898, four 
days after the declaration of the Spanish- American War. made 
a deeper impression upon our \'olunteer officers, the disgrace- 
ful unsanitary conditions and dire consequences would not 
have been observed." ^ 



1. At the date of writing this review of General Sternberg's work 
(May. 1918) I was glad to learn from a surgeon, passing through 
Washington on his way to the battlefield of Europe, that only a short 
time before he had heard a surgeon in giving a lecture to the new 
officers in camp refer to General Sternberg as authority for the state- 
ment that the common house fly was without doubt responsible for 
carrying the germ of typhoid fever, and giring the same instructions 
contained in General Sternberg's circular. 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 163 

CIRCULAR NO. 3 

Surgeon-General's Office, 
Washington, May 18, 1898. 

For the information of chief surgeons in organizing the 
Medical Department and Hospital Corps of their commands, 
the following relating to the duties of medical officers in the 
field is published. 

Duties of Chief Surgeons of Corps — The chief surgeon of a 
corps is held responsile for the proper and effective manage- 
ment of the medical service of the command. 

He should keep a register of the medical officers and hospital 
corps, making assignments and issuing orders and instructions 
with the approval of and "by order" of the Major-General com- 
manding, if authorized to do so. He should make himself 
acquainted with the sanitary conditions affecting the troops, the 
efficiency of the field hospitals and of the ambulance companies, 
and should call for weekly reports of sick and wounded and of 
the personnel and means of transportation of the hospital corps. 
All reports and papers not requiring special action should be 
checked off and receive the stamp of his office before trans- 
mittal. Such papers include personal reports of medical officers, 
monthly reports of sick and wounded, of the hospital corps and 
of the hospital fund, and sanitary reports from chief surgeons 
of brigades and divisions ; also the lists of wounded called for 
after an engagement. 

A copy of the action taken on all papers referred to him, or 
forwarded by him should be made in an endorsement book. 
Such discharge on account of disability, requisitions for medi- 
cal and hospital, and hospital corps supplies, and all recom- 
mendations or complaints referring to the medical service or 
affecting the health and well being of the troops. 

Copies of orders and letters should be made and placed on 
file, and all circulars and orders from the Surgeon-General or 
the chief surgeon of the army should be published without 
delay to the chief surgeons of divisions. 

Prior to a movement, the chief surgeon should verify, by 
personal inspection, the condition of the hospital and of the 
hospital corps companies and their trains, and should make all 
the arrangements needful for the probable exigencies of the 
campaign. He should see that the assignments by chief sur- 
geons of divisions to positions on the operating staff of the field 
hospitals include the best surgical skill of each division. On the 
march, he should accompany the staff and acquaint himself 
with the topography of the country ; and when an engagement 
is imminent he should indicate to chief surgeons of divisions the 
localities best suited for the establishment of field hospitals. 
He should inspect these from time to time and exercise general 



164 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

supervision over the first aid and ambulance stations and the 
movement of the wounded to the hospitals. He should also 
supervise the movement of the sick and wounded to the base 
or general hospitals, providing transportation and detailing 
medical officers and attendants for their care. When absent on 
such duties he should leave a competent medical officer with 
the staflf to represent him and to inform him of important 
changes in the military conditions. 

The commanding general should be kept informed of the 
work of the Medical Department and should always be con- 
sulted in matters of importance. 

Duties of Chief Surgeons of Divisions: The chief surgeon 
of a division supervises the medical and hospital corps service 
of the division. He should transmit official reports and papers 
with the stamp of his office if routine in character, or with his 
views endorsed thereon if the subject appears to call for this 
action. He should have frequent personal communication with 
the chief surgeon of the corps, and should endeavor to carry 
out the views of the latter on behalf of the troops. His usual 
position is with the staff, but he should make frequent visits 
to the division hospital and the ambulance company, to oversee 
their work. He should detail one medical officer in rotation as 
officer of the day, who, on the march, should keep him 
informed of any noteworthy occurrence, and who in camp 
should visit each regiment of the division to report on its 
hygienic and sanitary conditions. Before an engagement he 
should see that the field hospital is properly established and 
that the operating surgeon and their assistants are at their 
proper stations. During and after the engagement he should 
supervise the movement of the wounded from the ambulance 
stations to the hospitals. 

Duties of Chief Surgeons of Brigades: — The chief surgeon 
of a brigade is the adviser of the commander in all medical and 
sanitary questions concerning the command. He should call for 
a weekly (or daily as may be required) report of sick and 
wounded from regimental surgeons, and of the detailed mem- 
bers of the hospital corps on duty with them. He should for- 
ward the formal reports of these surgeons, and promulgate 
orders from brigade and higher authorities. He should keep 
careful watch over the health of the brigade, reporting in writ- 
ing from time to time, as may be required, and consulting in 
emergencies with the chief surgeon of the division. 

During and after an engagement he should supervise the 
work at the first-aid stations and the removal of the wounded 
to the ambulance stations, unless on account of his superior 
ability he has been assigned to duty at the operating tables, in 
which case a competent officer should be detailed to represent 
him temporarily on the staff of the brigade. 



SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR 165 

Duties of Regimental Surgeons: — The regimental surgeon is 
in sanitary matters the adviser of the regimental commander. 
On the march and in camp he should examine the sick with a 
view to their proper treatment and disposition. He is respons- 
ible for any unexpendable medical and hospital property issued 
for the use of the regiment. His supplies of medicines, etc., 
should be renewed by requisition on the surgeon in charge of 
the hospital. Members of the hospital corps on duty with the 
division are detailed on duty with him. Daily, after sick call, 
he should send a morning report of sick and wounded and of 
the hospital corps to the regimental commander, with a dupli- 
cate to the chief surgeon of the brigade. He should keep a 
register of sick and wounded and a retained copy of the 
monthly report forwarded through the offices of chief surgeons 
to the Surgeon-General, cases treated in the division field 
hospital should be borne on this report as so treated. He 
should forward monthly or when his official station has been 
changed a personal report on a memorandum slip. After every 
engagement a list of wounded of the command should be for- 
warded. H the regimental surgeon is, by order of the chief 
surgeon, placed on temporary special duty, the senior medical 
officer with the command will perform the duties of the regi- 
mental surgeon. During an engagement he should serve at the 
first-aid stations. 

Duties of Surgeons in Charge of Diznsion Hospitals: — The 
surgeon in charge of a division hospital is responsible for the 
care of the sick and wounded on the march and in camp, and 
for the comfort and general welfare of the wounded when 
brought to the hospital by the ambulance service. He should 
direct the unpacking of the wagons for the establishment of so 
much of the hospital as may be necessary, and the subsequent 
repacking when the march is to be resumed. He should super- 
intend the admission, return to duty, or transfer to base hospi- 
tals of his patients. As commanding officer of the hospital 
corps detachment he should keep the accounts of the enlisted 
men on duty at the hospital. He should make timely requisi- 
tions for medicines, medical and hospital stores, supplies and 
property, for the care, expenditure, and use of which he is held 
responsible. He should supply regimental and other medical 
officers of the division with such articles as may be required 
and are available for the treatment of the sick. He should 
send a daily report of sick and wounded and of the hospital 
corps to the chief surgeon, and transmit to the Surgeon-General 
similar reports for the month with a statement of the hospital 
fund. After an engagement he should forward lists of 
wounded, and on sending patients to base hospitals he should 
furnish transfer lists to the senior surgeon accompanying them. 
Medical officers may be assigned to assist him in the manage- 



166 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

ment of the hospital. One of these should act as executive 
officer, aiding the surgeon in charge in the work of supervision, 
and having special charge of records. Another should superin- 
tend the cooking and diet of the hospital, drawing rations from 
the subsistance department, and issuing them for use and keep- 
ing the accounts of the hospital fund. He should also have 
special charge of the hospital stores, and of such articles of 
property as are connected with the cooking and serving of food. 
Others should be assigned as attending surgeons to care for the 
sick on the march and in camp, and during an engagement to 
look after the management of the wards, and to make notes of 
operative procedures, deaths, and of the progress of cases for 
subsequent report to the surgeon in charge and entry on the 
records of the hospital. 

Duties of Medical Officers in Commend of Ambulance Com- 
panies: — The medical officer, in command of the ambulance 
company, is charged with the care of the pay, clothing, and 
subsistence of his men, and is held responsible for the care of 
ambulances and otlier wagons, tents, horses, mules, forage, etc. 
His subaltern officers assist him in the discharge of these duties. 
During and after an engagement he is responsible for the safe 
and speedy transportation of the wounded on litters and in 
ambulance wagons from the field to the hospital by way of the 
first aid and ambulance stations, which latter he should organ- 
ize. Medical officers of the Volunteer Army should make them- 
selves familiar with the provisions and requirements of the 
manual for the Medical Department, the paragraphs of Army 
Regulations relating to the Medical Department, the Drill 
Regulations for the Hospital Corps, and the chapters in Part 
1 of the Handbook for the Hospital Corps, by Deputy Surgeon 
General Charles Smart, U. S. Army. 

CONTRACT SURGEONS 

But to resume from General Sternberg's report on medico- 
military affairs : 

The large number of sick that had to be cared for during the 
progress of the war in regimental, division and general hospi- 
tals, rendered imperative the employment of additional medical 
assistance and under the provision of the Act approved May 
12, 1898 the sers'ices of over 650 contract surgeons were 
engaged. 

Most of the doctors from civil life did good service, many of 
them were thoroughly equipped physicians and surgeons, with 
ample hospital experience, but it was impossible to make care- 
ful personal selection, owing to the great pressure of business 
of the office. Since it was impracticable to have the qualifica- 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 167 

tions of each passed upon by an examining board, I 
endeavored as far as possible to obtain satisfactory professional 
endorsements before authorizing contracts. 

THE HOSPITAL CORPS 

April 25, 1898, in connection with the call of the President 
of the United States for 125,000 volunteers, I recommended 
that the law restricting the number of hospital stewards to 100 
be changed, and that for each regiment of volunteers, infantry 
or cavalry, there should be enlisted one hospital steward, one 
acting steward, and five privates ; and for each division of the 
Army one hospital steward, one acting hospital steward, and 
fifty privates to serve under the direction of the Chief Surgeon 
of the division. These recommendations were acted upon 
favorably in so far that by the Act approved from June 2, 1898, 
Congress suspended during the existing war all provisions of 
law limiting the number of hospital stewards at any time to 
100, and requiring that a person to be appointed a hospital 
steward, shall first demonstrate his fitness therefor, by actual 
service of not less than twelve months as acting hospital 
steward, provided that the increase of hospital stewards under 
this Act shall not exceed 100. In addition to the 200 stewards 
thus authorized, each volunteer organization received into the 
service, was allowed one hospital steward for each battalion 
(Act approved April 26, 1898). There was, however, no pro- 
vision made for Hospital Corps men for volunteer troops, 
except that which empowered the Secretary of War (Act of 
March 1, 1897) to enlist as many privates of the hospital corps 
as the service may require. In order to provide this Corps with 
the necessary number of men, letters were sent to the super- 
intendents of training schools for male nurses in the prominent 
cities, advising them of the need of desirable men and asking 
their assistance in securing unemployed nurses. A number of 
medical students, pharmacists, and young graduates in medi- 
cine enlisted in the Hospital Corps for service during the War, 
and it is believed that the efficiency of the Corps was thereby 
raised considerably. 

Recommendation was made May 14, 1898 that mustering 
oflficers be instructed to enlist desirable men approved by medi- 
cal officers at the rate of five for each battalion, and subse- 
quently that these be permitted to accompany the regiments on 
their future service. This recommendation was reiterated June 
18, in a communication to the Adjutant-General. Meanwhile, 
General Order No. 58, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant- 
General's Office, May 31, 1898, authorized the transfer of men 
from the line of volunteers to the Hospital Corps of the Regu- 
lar Army, upon the recommendation of the Chief Surgeon, and 
suspended the provisions of Army Regulations governing the 



168 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

Hospital Corps, so far as they were inapplicable in time of 
war and with troops in the field. Commanders of corps and 
of independent divisions and brigades were charged with the 
full control of the transfer from the line, and enlistment and 
discharge of members of the Hospital Corps, the detail of act- 
ing hospital stewards and appointing of stewards ; the latter 
were limited by subsequent orders to ten stewards for an army 
corps in addition to those authorized for the volunteer regi- 
ments. Authority for immediate enlistments without reference 
to this office, except in cases where slight defects existed, was 
also g^ven to a number of chief surgeons. 

FEMALE ARMY -NURSES 

The number of men enlisted and transferred to the Hospi- 
tal Corps was approximately 6,000, but owing to the limited 
appropriation, the body of trained hospital corps men was not 
sufficiently large, and this necessitated the detail of enlisted 
men from the regiments for hospital duty in several of the 
camps, and the employment of trained female nurses in general 
hospitals. Foreseeing the necessity for a large force of the 
latter class, I applied to Congress, April 2^, 1898, for authority 
to employ by contract as many female nurses as might be 
required during the war at the rate of $30 a month and a 
ration, the pay projx^r to be paid from the appropriation for the 
Medical and Hospital Departments. This was promptly granted. 

About the same time the National Society of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution offered its services as an examining 
board for female nurses, and a committee of which Dr. Anita 
Newcomb McGee was chairman was designated to take charge 
of this work. Thereafter most of the female nurses employed 
were selected by this committee, with the exception of those 
immune to yellow fever, wlio were recruited in New Orleans, 
and other Southern cities. A few were enrolled at Mon- 
tauk Point, Long Island, and Jacksonville. Fla., by the chief 
surgeons of those places. A number of patriotic societies 
offered to provide the hospitals with nurses, but the committee 
referred to answered its purpose so well, that I did not feel the 
need of additional assistance and was relieved from what would 
otherwise have been a serious responsibility. Over 17.000 
female nurses have been employed, at first in the general hos- 
pitals, and later at field division hospitals, when it became evi- 
dent that the field service purposes, for which the latter had 
been organized would have to give place to the imperative need 
of caring for the many sick men coming from the regimental 
camps. These hospitals ceased to be ambulance hospitals and 
their character of fixed hospitals was promptly recognized by 
assigning contract surgeons and nurses to duty with them, and 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 169 

providing them with articles of equipment which cannot be 
carried in the hospital wagons of a marching command. 

Female nurses were not sent to these field hospitals, until 
their original function as an essential adjunct to the command 
mobilized for active service became lost in the current of 
immediate necessities. Many of the trained nurses were Sis- 
ters of Charity, whose services were highly appreciated by 
medical officers in charge, as well as by the individual sick men, 
who benefited by their ministrations. Others were obtained 
through the kind assistance of the Red Cross Auxiliary No. 
3, sp)ecially organized for the maintenance of trained nurses, 
and I desire to express my high appreciation of the valu- 
able services rendered to the Medical Department by this 
organization. 

MEDIC.\L AND HOSPITAL SUPPLIES 

The authorized strength of the Army April 1, 1898 was a 
little over 28,000 ofiicers and men. This force was stationed 
as garrisons at military posts and while the supplies furnished 
were more especially adapted to the medical wants of troops 
in service under such conditions, there was ample provision for 
field service, especially at posts where active service against 
Indians or on riot duty was possible. 

Further than this, it is believed the available medical sup- 
plies were sufficient for the then existing army for any duty, 
though necessarily additions would have to be made in mobiliz- 
ing for foreign service. Up to the time war was declared, it 
was not practicable to take any immediate steps to obtain sup- 
plies owing to the wording by Congress of the appropriation 
bill and hence there was no money available from which to 
make purchases. But immediately after the war was declared 
and money became available many medicines were purchased in 
the open market, but a great number of articles indispensable 
to an eflfective service in camp or field, could not be readily 
obtained in the open market. This was especially true of 
medicine chests and apparatus, surgical instruments, hospital 
tents, and furniture. I repeat what has been asserted that "If 
the wording of the Act of Congress had permitted the War 
Department to make use of some portion of the $50,000,000 for 
offensive preparation, much could have been accomplished 
between March 9 and April 23 in the way of getting ready for 
the impending conflict. It will always be a subject of regret 
that the bill did not grant this privilege. 

But already before April 1, in view of the possibility of 
future needs, orders were given to have the field medical out- 
fits, medical and surgical chests, instruments, etc., at the supply 
depots put in order for issue immediately in case of need, and 



170 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

early in March the preparation of new pattern medical and 
surgical chests was begun so as to have them ready for manu- 
facture should the necessity arise. 

Immediately upon the declaration of war, April 21, steps 
were taken to obtain medical supplies for the new volunteer 
army. For the more important articles, and those of highest 
cost, bids were invited at short notice, such, for instance, as 
medical and surgical chests, litters and slings, field operating 
cases, pocket-cases, orderly and hospital corps pouches, etc. 
Orders were given and the manufacture expedited with the 
utmost dispatch. 

Requests for proposals for the usual spring purchases had 
been made in March, but to obtain medicines and other addi- 
tional supplies, in view of a state of war, advantage was taken 
of authority granted by Act of Congress and purchases were 
made in open market, the interests of the Government being 
guarded by obtaining informal bids when the amount was large 
and time permitted. 

May 3, foreseeing that it would be impossible to have ready 
for issue to the volunteer regiments, as soon as they were 
mustered in, the medical and surgical chests above referred to, 
as well as other articles of field equipment, although their prep- 
aration was pushed with the utmost dispatch, I telegraphed the 
governors of the several states for authority to utilize the medi- 
cal equipment of the National Guard in the service of the state 
volunteers, until our Army medical supplies were ready for 
issue. Most of the governors of the .states who had held 
equipment responded promptly and satisfactorily, but unfortu- 
nately many of the state medical departments had no such 
equipment. These deficiencies were supplied by the issue of the 
advance field regimental outfits, referred to hereafter. Most 
of the state field medical equipment so loaned has been, or prob- 
ably will be, eventually paid for by the United States. 

Meanwhile the officers in charge of the medical supply depots 
in New York and St. Louis were directed to make arrange- 
ments so that supplies could be immediately obtained for 
100,000 men for six months. As the supply table published in 
1896 was prepared for garrison use in time of peace and was 
inappropriate for use of troops in the field, a field supply table 
was prepared and approved by the Secretary of War, May 9, 
1898. 

This supply table specifies the contents of the medical and 
surgical chests, the hospital corps and orderly pouches, field 
operating surgeons, field and pocket-cases, mess chests, and 
field desk, and gives the allowance of medicines and disinfect- 
ants, hospital stores, stationery, furniture, bedding, clothing, 
and miscellaneous articles for field hospitals and ambulance 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 171 

trains. It was intended to provide for the needs of commands 
in active service where only a limited supply of articles could 
be carried owing to the necessity of restricting transportation. 

But as soon as it was evident that the troops were Hkely to 
be retained in camps of instruction, notification was given that 
articles on the regular supply table could also be obtained. 
August 12, in Circular No. 6, from this office, I again called 
attention to this subject, directing chief surgeons of army corps, 
of divisions, and of smaller commands to make timely requisi- 
tions for supplies by telegraph if necessary, and to see that field 
hospitals in which typhoid fever and other serious cases were 
treated were liberally supplied with disinfectants and all articles 
necessary for the treatment and comfort of the sick. 

New forms of surgical dressings especially designed for field 
use composed of sterilized, sublimated and iodoform gauze ; 
sterilized gauze bandages, absorbent cotton, catgut and silk, 
sterilized and packed in convenient envelopes, compressed cot- 
ton sponges and plaster of Paris bandages were also prepared 
under the immediate supervision of this office. Samples of 
these were sent to the three supply depots. New York, St. Louis 
and San Francisco, and all issues directed to be in conformity 
therewith. Forty boxes of these sp>ecially prepared dressings 
were put up at the temporary supply depot. Army Medical 
Museum, Washington, D. C, and sent to Tampa, Fla., for use 
of the army about to sail for Cuba. 

To provide temporarily for volunteer regiments organized 
and ordered to camps before the new medical and surgical 
chests were ready for issue, supplies of medicines, instruments, 
hospital stores, stationery and miscellaneous articles, according 
to the prescribed list and packed in convenient boxes were pre- 
pared at the supply depots. An important article to be pro- 
vided was the "first aid packet," containing antiseptic dressings 
for immediate use in emergencies and intended to be carried 
by each individual soldier. These were promptly and liberally 
supplied. 

Whenever notice was received from the Adjutant-General's 
Office that commands were to be moved or camps formed, I 
endeavored to anticipate the wants of the troops by telegraphing 
the officer in charge of the nearest supply depot to forward 
supplies for the stated number of men according to the field 
supply table. Requests from medical officers for supplies and 
orders based thereon transmitted to the supply depots were 
largely by telegraph, and orders were given when the supplies 
were needed promptly they should be forwarded by express to 
their destination. When a medical officer desired to purchase 
medical and other supplies for use in emergencies, authority to 
do so was always granted. Extensive purchases of medical sup- 
plies were made direct from this office from dealers in Wash- 



172 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

ington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia to provide for the 
immediate wants of troops at Camp Alger, Va., and the gen- 
eral hospitals at Fort Myer, Va., Washington Barracks, D. C. 
and Fortress Monroe, Va. This was done not only to meet with 
promptness the urgent needs of troops and hospitals in the 
vicinity, but to relieve somewhat the great pressure upon the 
supply depot at New York. 

In addition to the field supply table issued May 9, 1898, a 
revised edition of the Manual for the Medical Department was 
published. These, together with the 2,400 copies of a revised 
edition of Lieutenant-Colonel Smart's Handbook for the Hospi- 
tal Corps, were freely distributed throughout the Army, so that 
medical officers might become acquainted with the proper mode 
of obtaining supplies and their many other important duties. 
It is impossible to give a full list of medical supplies that were 
provided, but the following list will give an idea of the amounts 
of some of the principal articles. 

First-aid packets 272,000 

Orderly pouches 5,797 

Pocket-cases 509 

Surgeon's field cases 962 

Field operating cases 369 

Medical and surgical chests 328 

Litters 1,204 

Litter slings 2,259 

Cots and bedsteads, with bedding 7,600 

Blankets, gray 18,185 

Field desks 440 

Quinine pills 7,500,000 

Chloroform and ether bottles 13.220 

Gauze, sublimated, packages 100,625 

Gauze bandages, 3 sizes, 1 meter packages 331,776 

The medical supply depot in New York, Lieut.-Col. J. M. 
Brown in charge, supplied the posts in New England, the 
Middle States, and along the Atlantic Coast including Florida, 
and the troops that have been sent to and are now serving in 
Cuba and Porto Rico. Ordinarily requisitions received from 
officers serving in the localities mentioned were acted on and 
sent by the next mail to the depot for issue, but as already 
stated the telegraph and express companies were brought into 
use where the necessity called for prompt action. The pres- 
sure on this depot was at times extremely great in supplying 
the troops sent to Cuba and Porto Rico, and the large camps at 
Falls Church, Va., Middletown, Pa.. Hempstead and Montauk 
Point, N. Y., and Jacksonville, Feniandina and Miami, Fla. 
On account of the great urgency attending the establishment 
of Camp Wycoff the officer in charge of the New York supply 



SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR 173 

depot was directed to honor all requisitions made by the chief 
surgeon at Montauk Point without referring them for approval 
of this office. 

The medical supply depot at St. Louis, Mo., under charge of 
Col. J. P. Wright, Assistant Surgeon-General, supplied the 
states of the Mississippi Valley and region east of the Rocky 
Mountains, including Texas. The large camp at Chickamauga 
was supplied entirely from this depot, together with the camps 
at Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., Anniston, Huntsville and 
Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La. Many articles were sent 
from this depot to the supply officer at San Francisco, Calif., 
for the use of the Philippine expeditions. Owing to the dis- 
tance of the camps at Lexington, Knoxville, Huntsville and 
Anniston from Washington, the chief surgeons of these several 
camps were authorized to draw upon the depot at St. Louis for 
any article on the supply table without submitting requisitions 
in advance to this office. The officers in charge of the depots 
at New York and St. Louis were directed July 8, to keep in 
stock 1,000 iron beds or cots, with a full supply of bedding, 
ready for immediate issue. 

The responsibility of supplying the posts on the Pacific Coast 
and of outfitting the troops leaving for the Philippine Islands 
was placed upon Lieut. -Col. J. V. D. Middleton, Deputy 
Surgeon-General in charge of the supply depot at San Fran- 
ciso, Calif. As much delay and expense of transportation 
would have been incurred by sending supplies from Eastern 
depots to San Francisco, Colonel Middleton was authorized to 
purchase at discretion all necessary medicines, hospital stores, 
instruments, and miscellaneous supplies of every kind needed 
for the troops going to Manila. Articles of special manufac- 
ture, such as medical and surgical chests, litters, and litter 
slings, hospital corps and orderly pouches, and the specially 
prepared field dressing, already referred to, were shipped to 
San Francisco from St. Louis, not being obtainable on the 
Pacific Coast. The distance of San Francisco from the center 
of the Government was so considerable that the officer in charge 
of that depot was necessarily given large discretion in the pur- 
chase of supplies and expenditure of funds. Lieut. -Colonel 
Middleton deserves great credit for the efficient service ren- 
dered by him both as medical supply officer and as Chief Sur- 
geon of the Department of California. 

RAILROAD AMBULANCE TRAIN 

A railroad ambulance train was in my opinion essential to 
the well-being of the sick and wounded during transportation 
from Tampa, Fla., the probable base of operations in Cuba, to 
general hospitals in the interior. Accordingly, May 30, 1898, I 
recommended the equipment of a train to consist of ten tourist 



174 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

sleepers and a dining car. This was approved, and June 16, I 
was informed that a train of ten Pullman sleepers, a dining 
car, a private car, and a combination car was ready for sersice. 
The train was inspected by Maj. Charles Richard, Surgeon, 
United States Army, who was placed in command ; one 
assistant-surgeon, two stewards, twenty privates of the Hospital 
Corps, and three civilian employes were assigned to him for 
service. The train was amply provided with all the medicines, 
hospital stores and comforts required for the patients to be 
transported. The first trip made was from Washington, D. C, 
to Tampa, Fla., for the purpose of transporting sick from the 
latter place to general hospital at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, 
Ga. Tampa was reached June 19; Fort McPherson June 22. 
Here the Pullman cars were exchanged for the tourist sleepers 
originally requested. The latter were much better adapted for 
hospital purposes on account of their general arrangement, bet- 
ter ventilation, and convenience for cleanliness and the han- 
dling of patients. They had 134 lower and 136 upper berths, 
giving a total carrying capacity of 270. It was impracticable, 
however, to use the upper berths for severe cases on account 
of the impossibility of giving proper care and attention to such 
patients occupying them. 

Several trips were made between Tampa and Atlanta, on each 
of which great delay was encountered involving inconvenience 
and anxiety to all concerned, and discomfort and even harm to 
the sick was occasioned by the difficulty of obtaining a prompt 
response from local quartermasters to requisitions for the neces- 
sary transportation. On one occasion, after a delay of twenty- 
four hours, telegraphic communication with Washington had to 
be established before a movement was made. However, July 
4, Capt. H. R. Stiles, Assistant Surgeon, United States Army, 
on duty with the train, was appointed an acting quartermaster 
with authority to issue transportation requests. Major Richard 
reported on this as follows : 

"Not only has this change given me more time to attend to 
the more important functions of my charge, and has avoided 
many vexatious delays, but it has enabled me to come in direct 
communication with the railroads, and a better understanding 
is reached regarding speed, routes, and care of train en route, all 
of which factors should be considered in a service which has 
for its object the comfortable and rapid transportation of the 
sick and wounded." 

July 9, the hospital train met the transport Cheroka at Port 
Tampa. Fla., on her return from Santiago with 323 sick and 
wounded, removed 87 that same night to the hospital on Tampa 
Heights, and on the following day left for Atlanta with 235 
patients. This number together with the hospital corps detach- 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 175 

ment and civilians taxed the capacity of the train to its utmost, 
especially in the way of serving meals ; but all wants were fully 
supplied. During this trip, while the engine was taking on 
water, the hospital train was struck in the rear by a passenger 
train. A caboose on the rear train was completely shattered ; 
the private car used by the medical officers was so badly injured 
as to necessitate its abandonment, and many of the platforms 
were splintered, while the sick and wounded were severely 
shaken up by the collision, but fortunately no serious casualty 
resulted. Up to AugTJSt 31, the hospital train had run 17,500 
miles and transported 1,923 patients with only four deaths. 
Notwithstanding the large number of typhoid cases transported 
and the difficulty of handling such cases on this train, disinfec- 
tion was so efficiently carried out that no cases of this disease 
occurred among the personnel of the train. The utmost care 
was given to the disinfection of excreta to prevent any danger 
of the dissemination of this disease during the transportation 
of the sick. 

HOSPITAL SHIPS 

April 15, 1898, General Sternberg applied for a ship to be 
used as a hospital ship. After an inspection had been made 
of various ships offered, he recommended, April 22>, the pur- 
chase of the S.S. John Englis as well adapted for the purpose 
in view — a floating hospital for the care of the sick and 
wounded. It was to serve at any point on the Cuban coast for 
the transportation of the sick to any other point on our own 
coast and to act at the same time as a depot of reserve medical 
supplies for troops in the field. 

This recommendation was not approved at the time, and 
various other ships were inspected, but none found to be suit- 
able. May 18, by direction of the President, the John Englis 
was purchased, and the Quartermaster's Department took 
charge of her to prepare her for the special service required. 
Maj. George H. Torney, Surgeon, U. S. Army, was directed to 
make recommendations with reference to necessary alterations 
and apparatus, and was subsequently placed in command of 
the ship. The work necessary to make the vessel serviceable 
for the purposes in view required much more time than was 
at first anticipated, as may be gathered from a note written 
by General Sternberg to Major Torney, June 12: 

The hospital ship will be required at the earliest possible 
moment to go to Santiago, where you are likely to have plenty 



176 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

of sick and wounded men awaiting your arrival. I trust that 
you will do every thing in your power to have the ship ready 
for orders at the earliest possible moment. Be sure to get 
everything on board as soon as possible, for when you get your 
orders we want no delay on the ground that certain articles for 
which requisitions have been made are not yet on board ship. 

June 22, he again wrote : 

You will do everything in your power to expedite the work 
upon the hospital ship Relief, and when she is ready for sea, 
report to me by telegraph. Upon receiving telegraphic orders 
to that effect, you will proceed directly to Santiago de Cuba, 
reporting your arrival to the Commanding General at that 
point. Your ship should be anchored in a safe harbor at such 
point as may be designated by the proper authorities, and as 
near as possible to the seat of active operations. You will 
receive on board up to the full capacity of the ship the sick 
and wounded of the Army and Navy and care for them exactly 
as if they were in a general hospital, and you will be expected 
to make such reports and returns as are required by regula- 
tions for a general hospital. 

Your attention is especially invited to Army Regulation 1433, 
and should anyone attempt to exercise unauthorized authority 
over you or your ship, you will invite their attention to this 
regulation. When in your judgment or that of the commanding 
general or the chief surgeon of the troops at whatever point 
you may be located, it is desirable that you should proceed to 
a home port for the purpose of landing the sick and wounded, 
you will, if practicable, communicate with me by telegraph, 
and orders will be sent you designating the port for which you 
should sail. If it is not practicable to communicate with me 
by telegraph, you should apply to the commanding general of 
the troops for orders to proceed to such home port as may be 
desirable and immediately upon your arrival you should com- 
municate with me by telegraph in order that arrangements may 
be made to transfer the sick and wounded to a general hospi- 
tal. You will issue medical supplies upon properly approved 
requisitions to troops in the field and will do everything in your 
power to aid the medical officers with the troops, in providing 
for the comfort of the sick and the issue of ice, hospital stores, 
and such delicacies as you may have at your disposal. When 
practicable, you will send to me once a week a telegraphic 
report showing the number of patients of the Army and of 
the Navy on board the hospital ship. You should make timely 
requisition for necessary supplies for use on the ship and for 
issue to the troops in the field. 



SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR \77 

Further instructions were sent June 27 : 

You should keep in view the fact that the Relief is a well- 
equipped floating hospital and a depot of supplies for troops 
in the field. It is important, therefore, that she should not be 
taken away from the scene of active operations unless it is 
absolutely necessary for the purpose of landing the sick and 
wounded at a home port. You should avail yourself of every 
opportunity to send proper cases by the navy ambulance ship 
Solace, or by army transports returning to home ports. As a 
rule, the more serious cases of injury and sickness should be 
retained on your ship, as the disturbance incident to a sea 
voyage would be injurious to them. Convalescents and those 
sick and wounded who can be transported without injury to 
themselves, and who are not likely to be fit for duty within a 
short time, should be sent to a home port, whenever an oppor- 
tunity oflfers. 

Further particulars regarding our first hospital ships are con- 
tained in General Sternberg's report : 

The Relief sailed from New York, July 2. and arrived at 
Siboney on the 7th. She left Sibony July 19, with 254 sick 
and wounded and arrived at New York on the 23d. She sailed 
for Ponce, Porto Rico, August 3, and returned to New York 
on the 19th with 255 sick and wounded. The vessel made 
another trip to Ponce, Porto Rico, returning with sick, Sep- 
tember 6, to Philadelphia, whence she went to Montauk Point 
to transport sick to hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia. 
Another trip to Porto Rico was then made, the vessel return- 
ing, October 11, to Fortress Monroe, Va. 

July 1, 1898, Mr. N. B. Baker, President of the Atlantic 
Transport Line, Baltimore, Md. tendered the S.S. Missouri, 
with her captain and crew to the Government as a hospital ship. 
This generous and patriotic oflfer was accepted by the Secretary 
of War and Maj. W. H. Arthur, Surgeon U. S. Volunteers 
(assistant-surgeon U. S. Army) was ordered to take charge of 
her preparation for service and subsequently to command her. 
It was recognized that considerable refitting would be required 
before the vessel could be utilized. Ten days or two weeks was 
the period estimated as needful to permit of making the neces- 
sary alterations and providing the vessel with a steam laundry, 
steam sterilizing apparatus, and ice and carbonating plants, but 
it was not until August 23 that the ship was reported ready to 
sail, and even then a good deal of work had to be done on 
board during the stormy passage to Santiago. She returned 
from Cuba with 256 sick men, who were landed at Montauk 



178 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Point. Her second voyage was to Porto Rico, whence she 
brought 270 patients to the "Josiah Simpson Hospital," 
Fortress Monroe, Va., on October 6th. 

The hospital ship Olivette was a steamship which had been 
doing service as a water boat for the fleet of transports when 
Lieut.-Colonel Pope, Chief Surgeon of the Fifth Army Corps 
selected her for use as a hospital ship during the voyage from 
Tampa, Fla., to Santiago, Cuba. The equipment of one of the 
field division hospitals of the Corps was used in outfitting her 
for the work. On the arrival of the fleet at Daiquisi, she 
relieved the transports of their sick, many of whom were later 
transferred to the steamer Iroquois, so that room was made on 
the improvised hospital boat for the wounded expected from 
the impending battle. The Olivette answered her extempor- 
ized purpose excellently. She left Santiago July 9, with 279 
wounded officers and men and reached Xew York on the 16th. 
She returned to Santiago with medical supplies for the troops, 
and August 15 sailed with 203 sick men, who were distributed 
in Boston city hospitals. The Olivette sailed August 25 from 
Boston under order for Fernandina, Fla., for the purpose of 
bringing sick back to the general hospital at Fortress Monroe, 
Va. August 31, while coaling in stormy weather oflf quarantine 
at Fernandina, she listed heavily, filled with water, and sank 
in 20 feet of water. No loss of life occurred. 

THE HEALTH OF THE TROOPS 

Promptly following the declaration of war, arrangements 
were made by the War Department to recruit the Regular 
Army to its war strength, and to muster in the volunteer troops 
called out by the proclamation of the President. The Regular 
Army at that time consisted of well developed men, sound in 
physique, and well drilled and disciplined. In its ranks were 
only about forty boys under 21 years of age enlisted as musi- 
cians ; but when recruiting was begun the minimum age for 
enlistment in the regulars was reduced to 18 years, and the 
boys of this age were accepted for the volunteers. In my 
opinion this reduction of the age limit had a fwtable influtnce 
in inercasing the prei'alence of diseases among the troops. All 
military experience shows that young men under 21 years break 
down readily under the strain of war service, and every regi- 
ment had many of these youths in its ranks. 

I am of the opinion also, that the haste with which the 
volunteer regiments were organized and mustered into the 
service was responsible for much of the sickness which was 
reported in the early days of their camp life. Medical exam- 
iners were appointed to testify to the physical qualifications 
of each man before acceptance, but notwithstanding this, 
which at the time was characterized in the press as a very 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 179 

rigorous procedure, so many men were afterwards found on 
the sick lists of the camps unfit for service from causes exist- 
ing prior to enlistment, that special arrangements had to be 
made for their discharge. 

PRIMARY CAUSES OF SICKNESS 

Soon after the newly raised levies were aggregated in large 
camps, sickness began to increase progressively from causes 
that were so general in their operation that scarcely a regiment 
escaped from their harmful influence. These causes may all 
be referred to ignorance on the part of officers of the elemen- 
tary principles of camp sanitation, and of their duties and 
responsibilities as regards the welfare of the enlisted men in 
their commands. 

Officers who were responsible for the clothing and equip- 
ment of their men, for their shelter, drill, discipline, and per- 
sonal cleanliness — in fact, for their comfort, well-being and 
sound physical condition, were to a large extent ignorant of 
how to act in order to sustain their responsibilities, and others 
were even ignorant that these responsibilities rested on them. 
Medical officers, as a rule, were almost without experience in 
the sanitation of camps and the prevention of disease among 
troops. The few who knew what should be done were insuffi- 
cient to control the sanitary situation in the large aggregation 
of men hastily gathered together. As a result officers and men 
appeared to me to have regarded the deplorable insanitary 
conditions under which they live in their camps of organiza- 
tion, as the inevitable conditions of camp life preparatory for 
field service, and to have accepted them without question until 
general attention was attracted to them by an outbreak of 
typhoid fever. Officers and men in these camps were ripe for 
war, and drill, and parade, practice marches and military camp 
duties occupied the whole of their time and energies. Domestic 
economy and sanitation in companies and regiments were not 
given proper consideration, and men who were being taught to 
meet the enemy in battle succumbed to the hardships and 
insanitary conditions of life in their camps of instruction. 

The sites of certain of the camps have been instanced in the 
newspapers as the cause of the sickness that was developed in 
them. It is true in some localities, the sinks could not be made 
of the proper depth on account of the underlying rock ; in others 
a substratum of impermeable clay, and in others again a high 
level of subsoil water interfered with a satisfactory condition 
of the sinks. At Miami, Fla., the water supply was generally 
regarded as not good, and at Camp Merritt, Calif., the climatic 
conditions were such as to lead to its speedy abandonment. 
But these were local conditions, while the sickness which 
invaded the camps was general in its onset. A review of the 



180 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

whole situation shows that it was not the site but the manner 
of its occupation which must be held responsible for the general 
spread of disease among the troops. 

OVERCROWDED CAMP SITES 

The primary evil was overcrowding the site. The aggrega- 
tion of troops was effected hastily. On his arrival at Camp 
Alger the medical officer assigned to duty as chief surgeon 
found a number of regiments in camp. "Troops were arriving 
with every train, generally without previous announcement, 
and these camped where they saw fit." As a general hygienic 
as well as a military principle, troops in the field should encamp 
in rear of their color line. The area occupied as a camping 
ground should be as wide as the color line is long. This gives 
wide streets, ample space for the separation of tents, and a 
front which affords room for the needful sink accommodation. 
But no principle of this kind was manifest in the regimental 
camps of the newly organized commands. On the contrary, 
the idea seemed to prevail that the troops should be com- 
pacted as much as possible. Both at Alger and Chickamauga 
the com])anies of a regiment were crowded on an area insuffi- 
cient for those of a battalion, and brigades were packed together 
with scarcely an inters'al between the regiments. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Smart, in his inspection of Camp Alger, 
found company streets hardly wider than the intervals between 
adjacent companies should have been, and tents of the same 
company in contact with each other on the sides, and in contact 
on the ends with those of the adjoining company, so that the 
double row of tents between the narrow company streets made 
a continuous canvas covering 70 to 80 feet long and 16 feet 
wide, under which 100 men had to find shelter. Even when 
space was allowed between the tents of the same adjacent 
companies, it was wholly insufficient for proper trenching, 
ventilation and passageway. With streets reduced in some 
instances to a width of only 13 feet, the natural surface of 
the ground with its matting of grass roots is speedily eroded 
and tlic camp surface converted into a layer of dust or mud, 
according to the character of the weather. This constitutes 
a serious evil, but the great sanitary ojection to crowding the 
area in this way, is that the slops and garbage of the kitchens 
and the excreta of the sinks are too near to the quarters of the 
men. Fecal odors were perceptible in many of the camp streets, 
and of certain regimental camps it is reported that their odors 
were in themselves a veritable nuisance. The contracted front 
of the camp gave no room for a sink of the proper size for each 
company. A battalion of troops had to use a sink insufficient 
to accommodate a company. It was impossible to keep these 
pits in good condition when used by so many men. Covering 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 181 

the excreta at regular intervals was unsatisfactory, as fresh 
deposits were made while the police party was at work. Efforts 
were made to remedy this by requesting the individual man to 
cover deposits as soon as made. There was no room for the 
only efficient remedy, a sufficient number of properly con- 
structed and well cared for sinks, 150 yards in front of the 
color line, or at a corresponding distance on the flanks of the 
camp. These small sinks had the further disadvantage that 
they were filled up almost as soon as dug and had to be replaced 
by freshly dug pits, so that in a short time the whole of the 
contracted front of the camp was converted into sink surfaces. 

INSANITARY CAMP SITES 

April 25, 1898, foreseeing the likelihood of insanitary con- 
ditions in the camps of our newly raised troops, and with the 
view of preventing them, I issued Circular No. 1 from this 
office impressing upon medical officers their responsibility in 
sanitary matters and the necessity for a strict sanitary police, 
particularly in the care of the sinks and in the preservation 
of the camp area from contamination. These lessons should 
have been heeded, but the density of the military population on 
the area of these contracted camps prevented the possibility 
of a good sanitary condition. Camps of this character may 
be occupied for a week or two at a time without serious results, 
as in the case of national guardsmen out for ten days field 
practice during the summer, but their continued occupation 
inevitably results in the breaking down of the command by 
diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid fever. [See page 161.] 

Not only was the area crowded by the tentage, but the indi- 
vidual tents were overcrowded. Four to seven men were 
crowded into the small wedge-shaped wall tent which covers an 
area of only 7 to 8 feet. Some company and regimental com- 
manders encouraged their men to build sleeping bunks or 
rather low platforms, for the area under canvas would not 
permit of a separate bunk for each man ; others directed the 
men to carpet the floor of their tents with pine twigs or a layer 
of bark. Others again had straw littered on the floor; but 
most of the troops lay for weeks upon the ground, their 
blankets soiled and matted with dust, and their clothes soiled 
and dusty, for it was impossible to preserve anything clean 
under such primitive camp conditions. Facilities for bathing 
were rarely found in the camps, and laundry and lavatory 
facilities were not always readily available. 

These troops were subjected to most of the discomforts, 
hardships and climatic exposures inevitable to an active cam- 
paign, while nominally enjoying the comforts of a fixed camp 
of instruction. Only on active service in front of an enemy 
should it be allowed to have men sleep on the ground for weeks 



182 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

at a time, under insufficient shelters, and with inadequate 
facilities for personal cleanliness. On active service many of 
the insanitary features of their surroundings would have been 
removed. While campaigning they would have changed camp 
sites from time to time, and would have been freed from the 
harmful influence of accumulated filth, while opportunities for 
bathing would have been presented occasionally in passing or 
camping near streams. The only explanation that can be given 
is that the officers, military and medical, having no experience 
of military life in the field assumed that the deplorable condi- 
tion in which they were living was the usual mode of life of 
soldiers situated as they were, and that their duty as true 
soldiers was to endure not only without complaint but with a 
certain pride, the hardships of their camp life. Practically 
nothing was done to make the men comfortable or to remedy 
the insanitary conditions until these were brought to the atten- 
tion of the Secretary of War by inspectors sent out by special 
orders from the War Department. Then the camps held for 
so long were abandoned, but not before the manifestations of 
typhoid infection were rife in them. New sites were carefully 
selected, regimental camps were expanded, company tentage 
increased, and board flooring provided. Then, for the first 
time, the troops went into camps suitable for the occasion. 

CAMP DISEASES 

An increased prevalence of diarrheal diseases was the first 
manifestation of danger in the early camps. Much of this 
was no doubt due to the chill of the surface in cooling off 
after the perspirations attending drills in hot weather, much 
to the sameness of diet and bad cookery, much to the over- 
indulgence in fruit of doubtful quality, pies, etc., purchased 
from peddlers of food and soft drinks, who were established 
in business in or around most of the camps, and much to simi- 
lar indiscretions following the arrival of boxes of dainties from 
friends at home. Chill of the surface was aggravated by the 
ignorance or recklessness of the men, few of whom appreciated 
its dangers. The sameness of diet led to criticism of a ration, 
which is not only more liberal than that of any foreign military 
service but which sustained the volunteers of the Civil War 
during their arduous campaigns. 

Regimental commissaries and company commanders require 
exj>erience which few of our volunteer officers possessed. The 
annual outings of the National Guard, with a caterer to pro\nde 
special diet for the men, gave no opportunity for line officers 
to learn how to use fixed rations to the best ad\'antage or to 
exercise the needful supervision over cooks of doubtful quali- 
fications. 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 183 

Malarial fevers added to the sick lists of camps in Florida 
and of Southern regiments in camps in Georgia and Virginia. 
It was, however, typhoid fever which broke down the strength 
of the commands generally; the outbreak becoming distinctly 
manifest in July. Sporadic cases appeared in most of the 
regiments in May and June, these cases having been brought 
in many instances from the State camps. In fact, some regi- 
ments, as the Fifteenth Minnesota, suffered more from this 
disease at their state rendezvous than any of the regiments in 
the large Federal camps. A few of the regimental commands 
of the latter may be said to have escaped visitation. The sani- 
tary conditions affecting the commands in the various camps 
have been studied in connection with the prevalence of typhoid 
fever among the men by a board of medical officers consisting 
of Majors Reed, Vaughan and Shakespeare, but the results 
have not as yet been reported in full. 

It appears to me, however, from a general review of the 
sanitary reports already filed, that the prevalence of the disease 
was proportioned to the insanitary camp conditions which I 
have described above. My circular No. 1, already cited, was 
intended to bring the danger from this fever to the notice of 
medical officers with a view of obviating it. The probability 
of its communication to soldiers in camp through the agency 
of flies was pointed out as a reason for insisting on a sanitary 
police of the strictest character. At the time of the outbreak 
and rapid spread of the disease all the camps were suffering 
from what my reports characterized as the "plague of flies." 
Qouds of these insects swarmed about fecal matter and filth of 
all kinds deposited on the ground or in cesspools or sinks, and 
conveyed foul and infectious matter thence to the food exposed 
while in preparation in the company kitchens or while being 
served to the men. 

It is well known to the medical profession that this fever 
is propagated by a contaminated water supply, and it is now 
recognized that the great prevalence of this disease in an 
aggravated form in the camps of the Civil War was due to the 
use of surface and shallow well waters infected by typhoid 
excreta. To prevent transmission by the water supply I recom- 
mended the use of boiled water and filtered water when a pure 
spring supply could not be obtained, and to enable an efficient 
filtration of suspected waters to be made, field filters of 
approved construction were issued on my recommendation by 
the Quartermaster's Department. 

Circular No. 4, May 31, 1898, was issued from my office that 
medical and company officers should have a thorough under- 
standing of the intention and action of these filters and that 
the full benefit of their use might be secured to the troops. 



184 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Chief surgeons were instructed to forward samples of water 
to this office for analysis, whenever a doubt existed as to its 
quality, and the water supply of several of the camps was 
thereafter kept under analytical observation. This care exer- 
cised in the exclusion of typhoid infection from the water did 
much to retard the epidemic progress of the disease. 

Regiments camped near each other and using water from 
the same sources were not equally affected, thus showing that 
the cause was disseminated in other ways than by the water 
supply. The disease was slow in its development at Jackson- 
ville, Fla., which had a water supply from artesian wells. But 
the infection once introduced into a camp, from state rendez- 
vous or by sporadic infection from the neighborhood, began 
slowly to spread on account of the close contact of the men 
through overcrowding and bad conditions of sinks. 

I shall never forget the many exciting scenes that we 
encountered in our home during the Spanish-American war. 
Our country was unprepared for hostilities because of the 
almost general belief that we would never again be at war and 
because of our pride as a nation that we never went to war 
without good and sufficient cause. Our home became as busy 
as any office. Telegrams came at all hours, the telephone rang 
almost constantly, and wives and mothers in great numbers 
sought information regarding husbands and sons. Our evenings 
at home were no longer for rest and recuperation. My syTii- 
pathetic husband would sec all people who came in distress and 
he tried to answer all their questions as best he could. He was, 
however, severely tried when telegraphic messages from the 
governors of states demanded to know immediately where the 
state train was and why it was being delayed. These state 
trains had never been placed under his orders, and he was in 
no way responsible for their service. 

The kindness of President McKinley is one circumstance 
which stands out in bold relief against the difficulties of those 
trying days. One day he inquired of Cieneral Sternberg why 
I had not made my usual visits to Mrs. McKinley, and he was 
informed that I was all broken up over the adverse criticism 
of the conduct of the war. He told General Sternberg to bring 
me over, as I evidently needed a lesson in politics. When we 
met the following Sunday evening, he expressed regret that 
I should have worried over the newspaper accounts, remarking 
at the same time, that I did not understand that much of the 



SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR 185 

criticism was for political effect and that history would reveal 
that we had all done our duty, and in the meantime we had at 
least the approval of our conscience. 

SANITARY LESSONS OF THE WAR 

General Sternberg was naturally very anxious about the 
health of the troops and was greatly perturbed at the dis- 
appointing results of his efforts to secure efficient camp sani- 
tation. No one realized more than he, that typhoid fever and 
other camp diseases are to a great extent preventable, and 
hence that much of the sickness and suffering of our troops 
was cruelly unnecessary. In order to preserve and to transmit 
to contemporaries and to posterity the knowledge purchased at 
so vast an expense, he prepared and delivered the following 
address, which was read before the Section on State Medicine, 
at the fiftieth annual meeting of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation held at Columbus, Ohio, June 6-9, 1899 : 

As compared with the Civil War and with other great wars 
during the present century, the mortality from wounds and 
disease among our troops during the war with Spain has been 
low. Our wounded have had, to a large extent, the advantage 
of prompt treatment with antiseptic dressings and a very 
considerable portion of those who were not killed outright 
have recovered without any mutilating operation or septic com- 
plication. The mortality from disease has also been compara- 
tively low, but unfortunately during the first months of the 
war, that scourge of new levies of new troops — typhoid fever 
— prevailed in many of our camps and claimed numerous vic- 
tims. It is well known to sanitarians and military surgeons 
that as a general rule more soldiers succumb to disease than 
are killed by the bullets of the enemy, and our recent war has 
not been an exception in this regard. The total number of 
deaths reported in our enlarged army, including regulars and 
volunteers, from May 1, 1898, to April 30, 1899, is 6,406. Of 
these, 5,438 died of disease and 968 were killed in battle or 
died of wounds, injuries or accident. During the Civil War 
the number of deaths from disease was 186,216.^ The num- 
ber who were killed in battle or died of wounds was 93,969, 
or about one-half of the deaths from disease. The total deaths 
from disease in the Union armies from the commencement of 
the war to December 31, 1862, was 34,326, and in the Con- 
federate armies during the same period, 31,238. 

* In addition to this 24,184 deaths are recorded as from unknown 
causes, and probably most of these deaths were from disease. 



186 



GEORGE M. STERNBERG 



The accompanying table gives the monthly death-rates from 
disease in our armies from May 1, 1898, to April 30. 1899, and, 
for comparison, the rates for the same period in the first twelve 
months of the Civil War. 

In comparing the death-rates from disease during the year 
of the Spanish-American War, May 1, 1898, to April 30, 
1899, and the first year of the Civil War, May 1, 1861, to April 
30, 1862, note should be taken in the first place that the mean 
strength in May, 1861, was only 16,161, as compared with 
163,592 men in service in May, 1898. The mustering in of 
volunteer troops was slower in 1861 than during the recent 
war, so that it was not until September and October, 1861, that 
the mean strength assumed proportions equal to that of corres- 
ponding months of the Spanish War. Although the number 
present in the camps of 1861-1«%2 after October, 1861. was 
largely in excess of those aggregated during the past year, the 

COMPARISON OP MONTHLY DEATH RATES (PER 1.000) FROM DISEASE 



MoDthi 



May 

June 

July 

August.... 
September 
October... 
November. 
December. 
January.. 
February. 

March 

April 

Annual 



1801-1802 



Mean 
Strength 



10.181 
00.060 
71.126 

106.110 



aOl.848 
84S.184 
S6S.700 
S27.784 
S28.878 
410.410 
229,452 



Number 

of 
Deatha 



18 
56 

100 
242 
S06 

726 
1.145 
1.471 
1.508 
1340 
1.676 
1.881 
10.5S2 



Ratio 
per 1.000 
of M. 6. 



1.11 
0« 
1.40 
2.15 
2.21 
2^ 
8.70 
4.20 
4JI 
4.11 
4.70 
4.68 
45.W 



1008-1800 



Ratio 

per 1X00 
of M. S. 



Number 

of 
DeattM 



Mean 
Strcnctb 



0.26 


42 


0.48 


00 


1.70 


451 


6.13 


1.000 


6.74 


1.M1 


8.58 


800 


2.08 


MB 


1.10 




1.15 


180 


1.20 


188 


1.08 


Itt 


0.86 


80 


r.u 


8JM 



170.188 



lfB,7« 
120.781 
11S.708 



average annual strength during both wars did not differ 
greatly. Nevertheless, the deaths from disease in 1861-62 
numbered 10,522, while in 1898-99 they amounted only to 
5,438. The death-rate per thousand of strength mounted 
gradually month by month in 1861-1862, and indeed it did not 
reach its acme until February, 1863, when the rate of 6.39 
was reached. In 1898, on the other hand, the acme, 5.74, was 
reached suddenly in September, but owing to the sanitary 
measures adopted, the fall during October and November was 
as rapid as had been the rise. 

The same gradual rise is seen in the mortality statistics of 
typhoid fever during the Civil War. The highest death-rate, 
2.81, was not reached until May. 1862, the thirteenth month 
of the aggregation of the troops, when 1,092 men died of this 
disease, and the fall of the rates was as gradual as the rise. 
On the other hand, the rise in 1898 was sudden, the maximuin 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 187 

rate, 3.57, being reached in September, when 933 men died 
of the disease ; but the fall during the months of October and 
November was as notable as the rise. This sudden suppres- 
sion of the disease can not be attributed to an exhaustion of 
the susceptibility of the troops to attack from this fever, as 
they only suffered at the rate of 12.37 per thousand of strength 
during the twelve months, whereas the troops of the Civil War 
suffered at the rate of 19.71 per thousand. It can be attributed 
only to the active preventive measures that were instituted, and 
especially to moving the troops to fresh camp sites and the 
greater care exercised in the disposal of excreta. 

TYPHOID FE\ER 

The notable rise in the general death-rate from disease, and 
in that from typhoid fever alone, which occurred in August 
and September, was undoubtedly due to the insanitary con- 
ditions resulting from the hasty assembling of large bodies of 
undisciplined troops in our camps of instruction. 

The average annual mortality from typhoid fever in our 
regular army since the Civil War has been : for the first decade 
(1868-1877), 95 per 100,000 of mean strength (.95 per 1000) ; 
for the second decade (1878-1887), 108 per 100,000; for the 
third decade (1888-1897), 55 per 100,000. This latter rate 
compares favorably with that of many of our principal cities. 
For example, it is exceeded by the typhoid death-rate in the 
city of Washington, which is 78.1 per lOO.CXX) (average of 10 
years — 1888-1897) ; by that of the city of Chicago, which is 
64.4 per 100,000; by that of Pittsburgh, which is 88 per 
100,000. These figures, however, do not show the entire mor- 
tality in the cities mentioned as a result of typhoid fever, for 
without doubt many of the deaths ascribed to "malarial fevers" 
were in fact due to typhoid infection. Thus in the city of 
Washington the deaths reported from typhoid and typho- 
malarial fever (average of 10 years) numbered 78.1 per 
100,000 of the population, while 25.4 per 100,000 are recorded 
as due to malarial fever. In Baltimore the mortality as 
recorded from typhoid fever is 41.5, and from "typho-malarial 
and other malarial fevers" 18.3 per 100.000. In St. Louis the 
figures are: typhoid fever, 35.7, typho-malarial and other 
malarial fevers, 49 per 100,000; in New Orleans typhoid fever 
26.1 typho-malarial and other malarial fevers, 107.2 per 
100,000. 

It will be seen that sanitary conditions at our military posts 
in time of peace, as judged by the typhoid death-rate, compare 
favorably with those in our large cities in various parts of the 
country. As a matter of fact great attention has been given 
to post sanitation for many years past, and through the per- 



188 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

sistent efforts of officers of the medical department great 
improvements have been made, esi)ecially during the past ten 
years. The result is shown in a reduction of the typhoid mor- 
tality from 108 per 100,000 in the ten years ending in 1887, to 
55 per 100,000 in the decade ending in 1897. Hygiene is made 
one of the principal subjects of examination for candidates 
desiring appointment in the medical corps of the army, and at 
subsequent examinations for promotion to the grade of captain 
and major, is g^ven a most prominent place. It is also the 
most prominent subject in the course of instruction at the 
Army Medical School, where the student-officers spend five 
hours daily for a period of five months in practical laboratory 
work relating for the most part to the cause and prevention 
of infectious diseases. It should be remembered, however, 
that the Army Medical School was not established until 1892, 
and consequently but a small jx^rtion of the medical officers of 
the army have had the advantage of this course of instruction. 

The comparatively small number of medical officers of the 
regular army available for duty in the large camps occupied 
by our volunteer troops at the outset of the war proved to be 
entirely inadequate to control the sanitary situation in these 
camps, and as a result of the conditions existing, the mortality 
from typhoid fever in our armies during the year ending 
April 30, 1899, has been more than twenty-two times the 
annual mortality in our regular army during the decade 
immediately preceding the war period. As compared with the 
first year of the Civil War, however, there is a decided 
improvement, the typhoid mortality for the first year of the 
Civil War having been 1971 per 100,000 of mean strength, and 
for the Spanish-American War, 12v^7 per 100,000. Moreover, 
as shown by the chart, the vigorous sanitary measures 
enforced enabled our troops to quickly free themselves from 
the ravages of this infectious disease, and while the line of 
typhoid mortaUty continued to ascend during the first year 
of the Civil War and subsequently, it rapidly fell after the 
middle of September last and for the last six months of the 
period under consideration has been remarkably low. Indeed, 
in the history of large armies the record has never heretofore 
been equaled. 

In view of the great progress which has been made since 
the Civil War in our knowledge of the etiology' and preven- 
tion of those infectious diseases, which have in the past been 
most fatal to armies, the writer had hoped that the mortality 
from preventable diseases might be greatly reduced from the 
outset, notwithstanding the difficulties inseparably connected 
with the hasty assembling of large bodies of undisciplined 
troops in our camps of instruction. 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 189 

As we now know the cause of typhoid fever, the biologic 
characters of the typhoid bacillus, and the physical and 
chemic agents by which this bacillus may be destroyed, sani- 
tarians have no difficulty in formulating rules relating to its 
prevention, which if strictly followed, would, to a great extent 
at least, protect our armies from its ravages. 

In the writer's prize essay on "Disinfection and Personal 
Prophylaxis in Infectious Diseases," published by the Ameri- 
can Public Health Association in 1885, the following direc- 
tions will be found: 

"In the sick-room we have disease genns at an advantage, 
for we know where to find them, as well as how to kill them. 
Having this knowledge, not to apply it would be criminal 
negligence, for our efforts to restrict the extension of infec- 
tious diseases must depend largely upon the proper use of dis- 
infectants in the sick-room. 

Disinfection of excreta, etc. — The dejections of patients 
suffering from an infectious disease should be disinfected 
before they are thrown into a water-closet or privy vault. 
This is especially important in cholera, typhoid fever, yellow 
fever and other diseases in which there is evidence that the 
infectious agent is capable of self-muhiplication, in suitable 
pabulum, external to the human body. \^omited matters and 
the sputa, in these and other infectious diseases, should also be 
promptly disinfected. This is especially important in cholera, 
diphtheria, scarlet fever, whooping cough and tuberculosis. It 
seems advisable, also, to treat the urine of patients sick with 
an infectious disease with a disinfecting solution. 

For the disinfection of excreta in the sick-room, a solution 
of chlorid of lime is to be recommended. This is an excellent 
and prompt deodorant, as well as a disinfectant. A quart of 
the standard solution (No. 2), recommended by the committee 
on disinfectants of the American Public Health Association, 
will suffice for an ordinary liquid discharge in cholera or 
typhoid fever; but for a copious discharge it will be prudent 
to use twice this quantity, and for solid fecal matter a stronger 
solution will be required. As chlorid of lime is quite cheap, it 
will be best to keep on the safe side, and to make the solution 
for the disinfection of excreta by dissolving eight ounces of 
chlorid of lime in a gallon of water. This solution should be 
placed in the vessel before it receives the discharge. The 
material to be disinfected should be well mixed with the dis- 
infecting solution by agitating the vessel, and from thirty 
minutes to an hour should be allowed for the action of the dis- 
infectant before the contents are thrown into a water-closet or 
privy vault." 



190 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

In the manual for the medical department, which at the out- 
set of the war was distributed for the information of all medi- 
cal officers, the following directions will be found : 

"91. a. — Disinfectants are issued, as are medicines, to be 
used by medical officers when actually required for some 
specific purpose. Chlorid of lime, carbolic acid and mercuric 
chlorid are issued by the medical department for use as dis- 
infectants, properly so-called. A solution containing 4 per 
cent, of good chlorid of lime or 5 per cent, of carbolic acid is 
suitable for disinfecting the excreta of patients with cholera 
or typhoid fever, or the sputa of patients suffering from diph- 
theria, scarlet fever or tuberculosis. The floors, furniture, 
etc., in rooms occupied by patients suffering from an infectious 
disease, may be washed with a 2 per cent, solution of carbolic 
acid, or with mercuric chlorid of 1-1000. Soiled bed-linen, 
underclothing, etc., used by such patients, should be immersed 
in one of the above-mentioned solutions before it is sent to 
the laundry. 

92. When accumulations of organic material undergoing 
decomposition can not be removed or buried they may be 
treated with an antiseptic solution or with freshly-burned 
quicklime. Quicklime is also a valuable disinfectant, and may 
be substituted for the more expensive chlorid of lime for dis- 
infection of typhoid and cholera excreta, etc. For this purpose 
freshly-prepared milk of lime should be used, containing about 
one part, by weight, of hydrate of lime to eight of water. 

9vS. During the prevalence of an epidemic, or when there 
is reason to believe that infectious material has been intro- 
duced from any source, latrines and cesspools may be treated 
with milk of lime in the proportion of 5 parts to 100 parts of 
the contents of vault, and the daily addition of 10 parts for 
100 parts of daily increment of feces." 

At the outset of the war with Spain sanitary circular No. 1 
was issued. [See page 161.] 

Early in August the attention of medical officers was again 
directed to the importance of camp sanitation and disinfection 
of the excreta of "patients with fever," by Circular No. 5. 

"War Department: Surgeon -General's Office, 
Circular No. 5. Washington, Aug. 8. 1898, 

The attention of medical officers is invited to Circular No. 
1 from this office, dated Washington, April 25, 1898. 

The extensive prevalence of typhoid fever in camps of 
instruction indicates that the sanitary recommendations made 
in this circular have not been carried out. If mt^ilicil officers 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 191 

have failed to make the proper recommendations as indicated, 
the responsibility rests with them. If the recommendations 
have been made and not acted upon by those having authority 
in the various camps, the responsibility is not with the medical 
department, but these recommendations should be repeated, 
and commanding officers urged to move their camps at fre- 
quent intervals and to maintain a strict sanitary police. 

Geo. M. Sternberg, 
Surgeon-General, U. S. A." 

IMPORTANT SANITARY RECOMMENDATIONS 

The following letter was addressed to the adjutant-general 
of the Army on October 31. 

"Adjutant-General of the Army, Sir: — I have the honor to 
make the following recommendations with reference to the 
protection of our troops in permanent camps in this country 
and in the islands at present occupied by our forces, from the 
infectious diseases which are liable to prevail where insanitary 
conditions exist : 

1. No camp should be established unless there is an abun- 
dant supply of pure water for drinking, bathing and culinary 
purposes. Experience shows that reliance upon filtration, or 
upon sterilization by boiling, is very uncertain, owing to the 
difficulty of enforcing the use of the appliances provided for 
this purpHDse. Nevertheless, I recommend that portable filters 
of an approved model be supplied to troops in camp, for use 
when on the march or under any circumstances where it 
becomes necessary to use water which may possibly be con- 
taminated by the germs of any one of the infectious diseases 
which experience has shown to be most dangerous to troops 
in the field — typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, camp diarrhea, 
yellow fever. Company commanders should be made respon- 
sible for the proper use of these filters, and, as they require 
frequent cleaning and careful using in order to preserve their 
efficiency, they should be placed in the immediate care of a 
reliable and properly instructed non-commissioned officer, who 
should have a suitable detail to assist him in operating them 
for the filtration of all water used for drinking purposes. 

2. Disposal of excreta. It has been demonstrated that the 
germs of typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery and camp diarrhea 
are present in the discharges of those suflFering from these 
diseases and the propagation of these infectious camp diseases 
results, to a large extent, from failure to properly dispose of 
excreta. These diseases are frequently not recognized in the 
earlier stages or when the cases are mild in character, and the 
discharges of such persons thrown upon the ground or in sinks 
which are not properly disinfected almost inevitably lead to 



192 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

a propagation of the disease and often to a general camp infec- 
tion. This can only be guarded against by a complete system 
of sewers and water-closets connected with them, by some 
efficient method of removing excreta from the camp, or by its 
prompt and complete disinfection in situ if sinks are used. 
Experience shows that the latter method is difficult to carry out 
and requires the most constant and intelligent supervision. The 
first cost of a complete system of sewers for a camp which is 
to be occupied for several months would be small compared 
with the expense resulting from an epidemic of typhoid fever, 
yellow fever or cholera. It may be safely said that the expense 
resulting from the large number of cases of typhoid fever in 
our camps during the past summer has been greatly in excess 
of the cost of a system of sewers, where this would have been 
practicable, or of some other efficient method of disposing of 
excreta. As the best alternative where a camp is not to be 
occupied long enough to justify the establishment of a complete 
system of sewers, or where for any reason this is impracticable. 
J would suggest the following method of disposing of excreta : 
I would i)rovi(le a sufficient number of cylindric galvanized 
iron receptacles, eighteen inches in diameter and eighteen 
inches deep, provided with a galvanized iron cover and having 
a trough around the outside of the vessel, three inches deep, 
for the purpose of containing a disinfecting fluid, in order 
that when the cover is in |)osition this may serve as a valve 
preventing the entrance of flies or the esca|>e of foul odors. A 
second cover of metal, having a proi>er ai)erture to serve as a 
privy seat, should be provided. When about to be used the 
closet cover would l)e removed from the iron receptacle, leav- 
ing the seat exposed. After use the cover should at once be 
replaced. These cylindric vessels could be partly filled with a 
solution of carbolic acid, or the contents could be treated with 
quicklime, dry earth or ashes. They should be removed at 
regular intervals and the contents emptied into a pit far 
removed from the camp, or disposed of by cremation. There 
should be a sutVicient number of tlicsc vessels to put a clean 
one in position when those requiring removal are taken away 
to be emptied and cleaned. These vessels should be cleaned by 
the use of boiling water (or by incineration if practicable). 
(Signed) Geo. M. Sternberg. 

Surgeon-General U. S. A." 

REASONS FOR PREVALENCE OF TYPHOID 

We have now to inquire why, with our precise knowledge 
as to the etiology and means of prevention of typhoid fever, 
this infectious disease prevailed to such an extent in many of 
our camps during the first four or five months of the late war. 



SPANISH-AMERICAX WAR 193 

The reasons are apparent, and even in the light of our recent 
experience I am not sure that under similar conditions we 
could avoid similar results. Sanitarians generally are famihar 
with the difficulties attending their efforts to restrict the rav- 
ages of infectious diseases in towns and cities. They have to 
contend with the ignorance and reckless indifference of a large 
proportion of the population, with the ignorance and mistaken 
parsimony of legislative bodies, and to some extent with the 
negHgence or perfunctory performance of duties assigned to 
them by agents of the heahh department, often appointed as 
a reward for political services rather than on account of their 
special fitness for the work. Perhaps it was too much to expect 
that typhoid fever should be excluded from our camps, unpro- 
vided with sewers and occupied by new levies of troops, hav- 
ing for the most part inexperienced officers both of the line and 
in the staff departments. The medical officers of regiments 
were appointed by the governors of States, and as a rule were 
competent professionally, but they were called upon to assume 
new responsibilities for which they had no special training. 
Unfortunately, hygiene and practical sanitation are subjects 
which receive little attention in our medical schools or from 
physicians and surgeons engaged in the practice of medicine. 
But even in those cases in which the regimental surgeon was 
fully aware of the importance of camp sanitation and urgent 
in his sanitary recommendations, he was unable to control the 
sanitary situation unless the regimental and company officers 
enforced the necessary measures for protecting the health of 
the command. And just here is the fundamental difficulty 
when we are dealing with new levies of troops. The officers 
and enlisted men of our volunteer regiments were as a rule 
intelligent, patriotic and brave, but they were not disciplined. 
Each man was in the habit of judging for himself and of act- 
ing in accordance with his individual judgment. Discipline 
consists essentially in an unquestioning obedience of orders 
from those having proj)er authority to give them. Trained 
officers can not at once establish discipline among untrained 
troops, and when both officers and enlisted men are without 
military experience it is evident that, with the best material, 
time will be required for the establishment of discipline. And 
in the absence of discipline it is impracticable to enforce proper 
sanitary regulations in camp. The Surgeon-General may 
formulate sanitary regulations, and the general commanding 
an army corps or a division may issue the necessary orders, 
but in the absence of discipline these orders will not be 
enforced. A reckless recruit will drink the water which has 
been condemned as unsafe, and at night will defile the ground 
in the vicinity of his tent rather than visit the company sink, 



194 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

which, possibly is in a disgusting and unsanitary condition 
because of a failure to carry out the orders to cover the sur- 
face of excreta ''with fresh earth, or quicklime, or ashes, three 
times a day." 

The difficulty in controlling the sanitary situation, even when 
under the supervision of an experienced medical officer of the 
regular army, is illustrated by the following extract from a 
personal letter to the surgeon-general, referring to one of the 
camps occupied by volunteers who had returned from Cuba 
to be mustered out of service. Colonel Greenleaf says: **I 
have never had a more trying time than during the past two 
weeks in efforts to keep the camps reasonably clean. The 
approach of the muster-out period made officers and men 
equally indifferent to ordinary cleanliness, and without the 
cooperation of the quartermaster their camp would have been 
quickly untenable. We have had to hire civilians to clean the 
latrines, remove their contents and the garbage, clear the camp 
streets, and finally to stay on duty at the latrines and cover 
excrement as it was deposited ! Orders, written and verbal, 
requiring the soldiers to do anything in the way of police were 
repeatedly issued but were totally disregarded, and the sinks 
and kitchens were soon infected with such swarms of flies that 
I felt sure there must be an outbreak of disease." 

New levies of troops are especially subject to typhoid fever 
and other infectious camp diseases, not only because of a lack 
of discipline and consequent difficulty in the enforcement of 
necessary sanitary regulations, but also because the individual 
soldiers are very susceptible to infection, owing to their age, 
the abrupt change in their mode of life, the exposure and 
fatigue incident to camp life, and last but not least, their own 
imprudence as regards eating, drinking, exercise, etc. The 
trained soldier has not only learned the lesson of obedience 
to orders, but has learned how to take care of himself in the 
field. He will carry a canteen of boiled water or tea rather 
than trust to luck and drink any water at hand when he is 
thirsty. He has learned to control his appetite within moderate 
limits, and when issued rations for five days does not suffer 
from hunger on the fourth and fifth as a result of extravagant 
consumption or waste on the first and second days of the 
period for which he has been rationed. He takes advantage 
of opportunities for bathing, and washing his underclothing; 
and when his blankets or outer clothing are unavoidably wet he 
hastens to dry them in the sun or by a fire at the earliest 
opportunity. 

The value of experience and special training is recognized 
by all departments of human activity, and the military calling 
funiishes no exception to the general rule. This applies to 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 195 

the staff as well as to the line, and the medical staff is no 
exception. When, therefore, I say that the evils resulting 
from neglect of camp sanitation during the earlier months of 
the war were to some extent due to the inexperience of the 
regimental surgeons, I am not reflecting upon the professional 
quahfications of these gentlement, but am simply stating a fact. 
I desire to say, at this point, that many of these regimental 
surgeons showed a decided aptitude for the service, and made 
themselves familiar with their various duties as medical officers 
within a comparatively short time. As a rule they have been 
assiduous in the care of the sick, and professionally they have 
been fully the equals of the average doctor in the sections of 
the country in which their regiments were raised. Indeed, in 
many instances they have been men who had attained distinc- 
tion in their own State or even a national reputation. 

There has been no failure on the part of the medical depart- 
ment of the volunteer army to accomplish all that could have 
been reasonably expected of it, but without doubt an adequate 
number of thoroughly trained medical officers could have done 
much at the outset of the war in the way of preventing the 
introduction and extension of typhoid fever in our camps, and 
in organizing and administering field hospitals, ambulance 
companies, etc. 

Want of discipline and inexperience on the part of officers 
and enlisted men, together with the apparent emergency which 
caused them to be brought together in large camps in great 
haste and before proper preparation could be made for their 
reception and the supply of their many wants, were the fun- 
damental, and to a large extent unavoidable, causes of the 
extension of typhoid fever in our camps. But the first step 
in the development of an epidemic of an infectious disease is 
the introduction of the specific germ to which it is due. 
Unfortunately, typhoid fever is endemic in nearly all parts of 
the United States, and when a thousand men are brought 
together from any section, there is a fair chance that one or 
more of them are already infected with this disease. Unless 
these cases are recognized at the very outset the camp site is 
liable to be contaminated by typhoid excreta, and the bacilli, 
through the agency of flies or in a desiccated condition carried 
by the wind, effect a lodgment on food being prepared in the 
company kitchens, and thus find their way to the alimentary 
tracts of susceptible individuals. 

The attention of the profession has been largely attracted to 
the propagation of this disease through contamination of the 
water-supply, and to the distribution of the typhoid bacilli by 
the milkman, and there has perhaps been a tendency to over- 
look other modes of infection, which, in the absence of sewers 



196 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

and under conditions such as existed in our camps during the 
first months of the war with Spain, were even more important. 
It is evident that one or two unrecognized cases might be suffi- 
cient to inaugurate an epidemic in a regimental camp, and as 
a matter of fact the disease has prevailed in nearly every camp 
in the country which has been occupied for a period of a month 
or more. In many cases it was brought to our large camps 
from the State camps where the regiments were mustered into 
service. 

TYPHOID FEVER BOARD 

And now, in order that the "sanitary lessons of the war" 
may not be lost sight of, and may be made available hereafter 
if we should again have occasion to assemble a large army 
on short notice, I consider it my duty to speak plainly with 
reference to one of the principal cau.ses of the epidemic preva- 
lence of typhoid fever in our camps. As a rule this disease 
was called by some other name by the medical officers, on duty 
with regiments, who first saw the cases. Usually it was 
assumed to be malarial fever, and was treated as such until the 
patient became so sick that it was found necessary to send him 
to the division field hospital or to a general hospital. This gen- 
eral statement is based upon the carefully made investigations 
of a board of medical officers appointed on my recommen- 
dation, made in the following letter: 

"SURGEON-riENERAL'S OfFICE. 

Washington, Aug. 17, 1898. 

To the A(ljui:iMt-( icncral of the Army: 

Sir: — I have the honor to request that a board of sanitary 
exjx^rts may be constituted for the purpose of visiting the 
various camps within the limits of the United States, and mak- 
ing a searching investigation with reference to the cause of the 
extensive prevalence of typhoid fever in many of these camps. 
The board to receive detailed instructions from the surgeon- 
general of the army, and to make a full refwrt as soon as prac- 
ticable after the completion of their investigation. 

I would also recommend that this board be directed, while 
pursuing their investigations, to call the attention of the proper 
authorities to any insanitary- conditions existing at the camps 
visited by them, and to make recommendations with a view to 
their prompt correction. I recommend the detail of the follow- 
ing medical officers for this duty : Major Walter Reed. Sur- 
geon U. S. -\., Major X'ictor C. \'aighan. Division Surgeon 
U. S. v., Major Edward O. SnAKEsrE.\RE. Brigade Surgeon 
U. S. V. 

(Signed) riEO. M. Sternberg. 

Surgeon-General V ^ 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 197 

In a paper read by Major Victor C. Vaughan, at the meet- 
ing of the Association of American Physicians held in Wash- 
ington, D. C, early in May, which paper may be regarded as 
a preliminary report of the board, the following statements are 
made: 

**\\'e had not finished our first day's work at Camp Alger 
before we saw that one factor in the problem must be thor- 
oughly dealt with before we could hope to reach a satisfactory 
solution. Fortunately, we promptly took steps to acquaint our- 
selves with this factor. It can not be denied that scientific 
medicine would have gained much had this factor been pro- 
vided for at an earlier date. I refer to the question of scien- 
tific diagnosis of typhoid fever. In the division hospital at 
Camp Alger we found most of the febrile cases diagnosed as 
malarial. We believe that they were typhoid fever, but the 
surgeon in charge had diagnosed them malaria. We requested 
that competent men properly equipped for making blood ex- 
aminations for the malarial plasmodium and the Widal test, 
should be sent to each of the larger camps. The surgeon- 
general acted promptly on this suggestion. Drs. Gray and Car- 
roll, of the Army Medical Museum, went to Camp Alger for 
this purpose. Subsequently Dr. Carroll continued this work 
at Jacksonville. Dr. Dock, of the University of Michigan, 
made investigations at Chickamauga, Knoxville and Meade. 
Acting Asst.-Surg. Craig also spent several weeks in making 
blood examinations at Sternberg Hospital, Chickamauga Park. 
Dr. Curry, Acting Asst.-Surg. at Fort Myer, has made many 
hundreds of blood examinations on sick soldiers sent to Camp 
Alger, Jacksonville and other camps. As a result of the work 
done by these men we are able to state that malaria was a 
very rare disease among those troops who remained in the 
United States. 

To summarize concerning the so-called protracted malarias 
reported by the regimental surgeons, I will say that, in my 
opinion, practically all of these were typhoid fever, and the 
following are my reasons for this opinion : 

1. The uneven distribution of the so-called malaria among 
regiments encamped side by side gives cause to suspect that 
these cases were not malarial. 

2. Some of the surgeons who failed to record their cases as 
typhoidal, state in their comments that typhoid fever prevailed 
in the regiments. 

3. The results of several hundred blood examinations 
showed that malaria was a very rare disease among the troops 
that remained in the United States. 



198 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

4. Malaria as it exists in this country is easily controlled by 
mild doses of quinin. All the so-called protracted malarias in 
our camp were treated with large doses of quinin and were not 
improved thereby. Consequently, we must conclude that the 
diagnosis given these cases was erroneous. 

5. The mortality of the so-called protracted malarias cor- 
responds with the mortality of typhoid fever and furnishes 
most positive proof that these cases were not malarial. 

When we began to study the regimental sick reports we 
found that in order to obtain satisfactory information, we must 
endeavor to ascertain how many cases of typhoid fever there 
were in each regiment, and it soon became evident that the regi- 
mental sick reports did not give this information. Of two 
regiments in the same brigade one had more than 200 cases of 
typhoid fever, as shown by the regimental reports ; while the 
other regiment on like evidence had only two cases, but the 
records of the second regiment show more than 200 cases of 
protracted malaria, and these furnished a mortality as high as 
that of the typhoid fever in the first regiment. For the reasons 
already given, we have included all the protracted malarias 
among our list of typhoids. It may be asked how long we have 
considered it necessary for a so-called malaria to run in order 
to make it a probable typhoid. In answer to this I will state 
that we have regarded all so-called malarias of ten days or 
more in duration as possible cases of typhoid fever. W'e think 
that the great rarity of true malaria and the readiness with 
which these rare cases have yieded to quinin, and the fact 
that quinin was so generally administered justifies us in this 
conclusion. Practically, however, the number of doubtful 
cases is exceedingly small. 

Typhoid fever was not only diagnosed malaria, but it was 
covered up by many other names. In one regiment the death- 
rate from indigestion amounted to 15 percent, of the completed 
cases. In another regiment at Chickamauga dengue was a fre- 
quent diagnosis of many cases which undoubtedly were typhoid 
fever. . . ." 

MISTAKEN DIAGNOSIS 

The mode of origin and spread of typhoid fever in our 
camps is illustrated by a recent epidemic in the camp of the 
8th Cavalry at Puerto Principe, Cuba. Major Walter Reed, 
Surgeon U. S. A., was sent at my request to make a special 
investigation with reference to the origin of this epidemic. 
The following quotation from his report shows that, as usual, 
this epidemic had its origin in a failure to promptly recognize 
the disease, and a consequent failure to disinfect excreta and 
to move the troops from the infected camp site: 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 199 

**The total number of cases of typhoid fever that had 
occurred to date was reported by the regimental medical 
officers as 103, with 24 deaths. Taking the average mortality 
of this disease in military camps, I am of the opinion that not 
less than 250 cases of typhoid fever occurred in the 8th 
Cavalry during the epidemic. 

To sum up briefly the occurrence of typhoid fever in the 8th 
Cavalry, I find that the disease was imported by this regiment 
into its Cuban camp, but was mistaken by the various medical 
officers on duty with the regiment for malarial remittent fever, 
until the epidemic had reached serious proportions ; that it was 
clearly not due to water infection, but was transferred from 
the infected stools of patients to the food by means of flies, the 
conditions being especially favorable for this manner of dis- 
semination by reason of the close proximity of the picket line 
to mess-tents and latrines. I also find that the lax methods 
of disinfection of stools and clothing of patients in hospital 
were additional sources of infection. 

I find here a repetition of the same story of mistaken diag- 
nosis with regard to the character of camp fevers that occurred 
in every military camp in the United States last summer, and 
the same absence of any evidence pointing to the contamination 
of the drinking water." 

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS 

This failure to recognize typhoid fever during its earlier 
stages is an error of diagnosis which was made on a very 
extensive scale during the Civil War, has been made on an 
equally extensive scale by surgeons of the British army on duty 
with troops in India, and is still being made by a majority of 
the practitioners of medicine in certain parts of our own 
country. 

The fact that enteric fever has an intermittent or remittent 
character has been pointed out by many authors and was 
referred to in the writer's work on "Malaria and Malarial 
Diseases," published in 1884, as follows: 

"Probably one of the most common mistakes in diagnosis, 
made in all parts of the world where malarial and enteric 
fevers are endemic, is that of calling an attack of fever, belong- 
ing to the last named category, remittent. This arises from 
the difficulties attending a differential diagnosis at the outset, 
and from the fact that having once made a diagnosis of remit- 
tent, the physician, even if convinced later that a mistake has 
been made, does not always feel willing to confess it. The case 
therefore appears in the mortality returns if it prove fatal, or 
in the statistic reports of disease, if made by an army or navy 
surgeon, as at first diagnosed. Quite as frequently, perhaps, 



200 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

the physician remains convinced that his first diagnosis was 
correct, inasmuch as the fever was decidedly remittent in type 
during the first week, and is puzzled to know why he did not 
succeed in arresting the progress of the disease by the free 
administration of quinin. By referring to the literature of the 
subject he will find ample support for the view that remittent 
fevers are likely to assume a continued form, and that patients 
suffering from malarial fevers of a remittent or continued 
type frequently fall into a typhoid condition. It is, therefore, 
not surprising that mistakes are frequently made, especially 
when we remember that during the first week typhoid has a 
decidedly remittent character, quite independently of any 
malarial complication, and that the periodic fluctuations of the 
pyretic movement are still more pronounced when it occurs in 
a malarial subject, i.e., one who has suffered frequent atUcks 
of j)eriodic fever. Moreover, there are undoubtedly cases of 
enteric fever of so mild a form that all of the characters com- 
monly relied uj)on for making a diagno>is are wanting, and 
these cases of typhoid poisoning may be complicated by the 
most decided evidences of malarial poisoning when the case 
occurs in a malarious region, or in r"^ in.llvwln ,1 who h:i> Ven 
recently exposed in such a region. 

This failure to recognize typhoid icvcr, especially in us 
earlier stages and in its milder manifestations, is not peculiar 
to American physicians, but has occurred in all parts of the 
world where the two diseases prevail in the same area. In 
India for many years the British medical ofticers denied that 
typhoid fever exi.sted as an endemic disease. 

The differential diagnosis of typhoid and malarial fevers can 
be made at an earlier date and with much greater certainty by 
a microscopic examination of the blood and the application of 
the W'idal test than was practicable before the discover)- of the 
malarial parasite and of the specific agglutinating action of 
blood serum from a typhoid case upon a culture of the bacillus. 
But these scientific studies are so recent that the profession 
generallv still depends upon sj>ecially trained exj)erts for their 
application to the diagnosis of doubtful cases. It is to be 
ho})ed. however, that the time is not far distant when every 
qualified practitioner of medicine will bfe prepared to apply 
these invaluable mt -"- - * '''r"^^'^-'-- 

rKlNvUWl. SAMTAKV Ih>>0.\S 

Finally, the principal lessons to he derived from our recent 
experience may be stated as follows : 

.\ trained medical corps hardly adequate for an army of 
25,000 men can not control the sanitary situation when this 
army is quickly expanded to 250.000. Physicians and surgeons 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 201 

from civil life, however well qualified professionally, as a rule, 
are not prepared to assume the responsibilities of medical 
officers charged with administrative duties and the sanitary 
supervision of camps. The proper performance of such duties 
can not be expected from a physician without military training 
or experience, no matter how distinguished a position he may 
have held in civil life. 

Courage and patriotism on the part of line officers and 
enlisted men can not take the place of knowledge and experi- 
ence; new levies of troops are, as a rule, ignorant of the first 
principles of camp sanitation, and reckless as to the con- 
sequences of their neglect of prescribed sanitary regulations. 
Therefore, training and discipline are essential factors in the 
preservation of the health of soldiers in garrison or in the field. 

The value of the aphorism, "in time of peace prepare for 
war," has received additional support. This preparation 
should include a corps of trained medical officers larger than 
is absolutely necessary for the army on a peace basis, and 
systematic instruction in militar>' medicine and hygiene for 
the medical officers of the national guard as well as for those 
of the regular army ; also instruction of line officers in the ele- 
ments of hygiene and especially in camp sanitation. It should 
also include the establishment of camping-grounds in various 
parts of the countr)', having an ample supply of pure water, a 
proper system of sewers, etc. If our volunteers could have 
been assembled in such camps during the late war a saving in 
lives and money would have resulted which would without 
doubt have demonstrated the economy of such preparation for 
war in time of peace." 

ANSWERS TO CRITICISMS 

In reply to certain broad criticisms of the Medical Depart- 
ment during the war, General Sternberg addressed the follow- 
ing communication to the Adjutant-General of the Army, 
December 16, 1901 : 

To the Adjutant-General of the Army. 

Sir: — Referring to the remarks of Dr. Charles A. L. Reed, 
at a banquet given him by the medical profession of Northern 
Ohio, I have the honor to report as follows : 

It is evident that in speaking of the losses from a prevent- 
able disease in one of our camps during the Spanish-American 
War, Dr. Reed refers to Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park, 
Ga. It is true that the troops in that camp suffered severe 
losses from typhoid fever, and it is also true that the medical 
profession generally regard typhoid fever as a preventable dis- 
ease. We have succeeded in preventing any considerable prev- 



202 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

alence of typhoid fever at our permanent military posts during 
the past twenty years by constant attention to sanitation. But 
when considerable numbers of raw troops, with line officers 
and medical officers who for the most part were without pre- 
vious experience in the sanitary supervision of troops, were 
brought into camps not previously prepared for their reception 
the result was disastrous, and in nearly every camp throughout 
the country typhoid fever prevailed as an epidemic. The 
causes for this are set forth in my paper on "Sanitary Lessons 
of the War," read before the American Medical Association 
at Columbus, Ohio, in 1899, a copy of which I enclose here- 
with. It is evident that no one man can properly be held 
responsible for the conditions which existed at Camp Thomas, 
although the Commanding General of a camp, or army in the 
field, is supposed to be responsible for everything pertaining 
to the well-being of the troops under his command. Under 
existing regulations officers of the Medical Department are 
simply res|X)nsible that proper sanitary recommendations are 
made to officers of the line having authority to carry them out. 

Major William O. Owen, Surgeon, U. S. Army, some time 
since read a paper before a medical society in Cincinnati in 
which he advocated the view that medical officers should be 
given the authority for carrying out necessary measures. In 
that case they would be resj)onsible for any failure to carry 
out necessary sanitary measures for the protection of troops 
with which they were serving. But this would often involve 
the moving of troops from one camp site to another, and 
measures which evidently could not properly be executed 
except by authority of the Commanding Officer. Dr. Reed, 
and civilians generally, can hardly be expected to appreciate the 
military reasons which make it impracticable to place the con- 
trol of sanitary matters entirely in the hands of the Medical 
Department. A medical officer might consider it necessary to 
order the construction of sewers or the sinking of wells at a 
camp which was shortly to be abandoned, the fact being 
known to the commanding officer but for military reasons not 
made public. 

Dr. Reed's statement that "an officer in the semce who 
today agitates this unsavory subject is banished to the Philip- 
pines" is based upon the fact that Major Owen, who read the 
paper above referred to, has been ordered to the Philippines 
and some of his friends have inferred that his being so ordered 
was a result of his reading the paj>er, a copy of which is 
enclosed. This is a mistake. I asked for Major Owen's 
orders before having seen or heard am-thing of his paper, 
because he had been on duty in the United States for more 
than two years and his ser\ ices are required in the Philippines. 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 203 

As to the statement that "the Surgeon-General cannot fill the 
sixty or more vacancies now existing in his Corps, and that 
self-respecting men are not offering themselves," I would say 
that there have been more than four hundred applications for 
admission to the Medical Corps during the past year, and 
eighty physicians, many of whom had had previous service and 
were entirely familiar with existing conditions in the Army, 
have passed our army medical examining boards and been 
commissioned as assistant surgeons in the Army. It is a fact, 
however, that the legislation enacted last winter gave us a dis- 
proportionate number of medical officers in the lowest grade 
and that without additional legislation in the future assistant 
surgeons who enter the Army hereafter to fill existing vacan- 
cies (60) will be at a disadvantage as regards promotion. 
This will no doubt prevent some desirable men from civil life, 
and a certain number of contract surgeons and Volunteer 
medical officers, from applying for commissions in the Regular 
Army. 

MILITARY HYGIENE AT WEST POINT 

Inasmuch as commanding officers of troops are, and must 
be, directly responsible for the carrying out of all necessary 
sanitary improvements and regulations in garrisons and camps, 
I respectfully invite attention to the importance of instructing 
line officers in all that relates to militar>' hygiene. In this con- 
nection attention is also invited to the recommendation of the 
Board of Visitors to the U. S. Military Academy for the year 
1901, which is as follows: 

"The question of the establishment of a course on military 
hygiene has received the careful attention of the committee. 
They beg to submit to the board for indorsement and approval 
the following propositions, some of which are extracted from 
a previous report upon the same subject made by the 
chairman : 

"1. The establishment of such a course has been repeatedly 
recommended by Boards of Visitors and Surgeon-Generals, 
and has been approved on more than one occasion by the Sec- 
retary of War. 

"2. As long ago as 1894 the Board of Visitors argued in 
support of the establishment of such a chair, to the effect that 
the mere rudiments of hygiene in relation only to personal 
health cannot be acquired by the cadets in so short a course as 
was then, and is now, given at the Academy (ten hours 
altogether of lectures and recitations) ; and when, in addition, 
the important questions of the proper or improper feeding, 
clothing, housing, and physical training of the soldiers in peace 
and during the exigencies of war; the prevalence and preven- 
tion of disease, which makes far greater inroads upon the 



204 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

effective strength of an army than do the shot and shell of the 
enemy, and the complicated problems of the effective yet 
practicable sanitation of barracks and camps are considered 
thorough instruction in this department is seen to be not only 
desirable but urgent, and in fact, necessary. 

"3. The American Medical Association, representing the 
profession of the entire country, has recently (June 7, 1899) 
unanimously recommended 'that a professor of military 
hygiene be appointed at West Point to instruct the cadets in 
the principles of sanitation,' and resolved that a Committee be 
appointed to wait upon and present this and other resolutions 
to the President of the United States for his favorable 
consideration." 

Very respectfully, 

Geo. M. Sternberg, 
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army. 

As a reply to an article by Col. Theodore Roosevelt, then 
Governor of New York, unfavorably contrasting the organiza- 
tion of the War Department with the Navy Department, Gen- 
eral Sternberg submitted an article to The Century Magazine 
in 1899. The editor of The Century declined to publish it in 
full for want of space, and, in a letter dated Dec. 5, 1899, the 
"associate editor" said, "We ought to add that the first of 
February is the first date on which the article could appear 
and we might not find two pages then." It was therefore 
withdrawn, and General Sternberg published privately the fol- 
lowing defense of the War Department. 

In the Century Magazine for November, 1899, is an articie 
by Governor Roosevelt contrasting the condition of the Army 
and Navy at the outbreak of the war with Spain, in which 
very unfavorable inferences are drawn as regards the 
efficiency of the Chiefs of Bureaus in the War Department. 

We are all proud of the achievements of our navy and are 
ready to do full honor to the naval heroes of the war and to 
the bureau officers in the Navy Department who have directed 
the equipment and movements of our ships of war. But it 
may be questioned whether such a comparison as Governor 
Roosevelt has made is in good taste, and I think it can easily 
be shown that it is, to a certain extent at least, unjust. That 
the navy was better prepared for a foreign war than the army 
is undoubtedly true. For years past large appropriations have 
been made for the purjK)se of building up a "new navy." and 
we have now a fleet of battleships and cruisers which com- 
mands the admiration of the world. On the other hand, all 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 205 

efforts to obtain legislation for an increase in the army, or for 
its reorganization in accordance with the views of our leading 
military experts, have proved futile and our army when war 
was declared had practically the same strength and organiza- 
tion as it has had for many years. Nevertheless, I make bold 
to say, our little army of 25,000 men in its soldierly qualities 
and fighting capacity was unexcelled. 

It is not my present intention to discuss the organization of 
our army, or to contrast its achievements with those of the 
navy. There is an old proverb with reference to comparisons. 
But I beg leave to call the attention of Governor Roosevelt 
and others who are inclined to make such comparisons, to the 
following facts : 

The army was expanded within two months from 25,000 to 
more than 250,000 men. The enlisted personnel of the navy 
did not at any time during the war exceed 24,500 men. The 
ships of the navy afford to our sailors comfortable quarters 
and ample transportation for supplies of all kinds, and when 
ordered to sea they are usually outfitted at a navy yard where 
supplies of all kinds are stored. On the other hand, the sup- 
plies for the army must be shipped from the various supply 
depots or purchasing points to the numerous and often distant 
camps where the troops are assembled. The problems, there- 
fore, connected with the transportation of troops and supplies, 
which are recognized by all military authorities as being among 
the most important and difticult of all these connected with the 
organization and mobilization of a large army, are pecuHar to 
the military service. 

Again, the difficulties connected with the sanitation of 
camps, especially when new levies of undisciplined troops are 
hastily assembled, are peculiar to the military service. Sailors 
on ship-board are removed from many influences which con- 
tribute to the sick-rate of the army. They have the ocean for 
a sewer and are not exposed to the insanitary conditions result- 
ing from the aggregation of soldiers in large camps or to the 
hardships connected with an active campaign in a tropical 
country. 

Governor Roosevelt refers to the bureaus of the War 
Department in the following language : 

"The bureaus in Washington were absolutely enmeshed in 
red tape, and were held for the most part by elderly men, of 
fine records in the past, who were no longer fit to break 
through routine and to show the extraordinary energy, busi- 
ness capacity, initiative, and willingness to accept responsi- 
bility which were needed." 

The bureau officers of the War Department were subjected 
to much unjust criticism during the war which they were 
obliged to endure in silence, both because their time was fully 



206 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

occupied by their official duties and because it is considered 
undignified for a person in high official position to reply to 
the attacks of newspaper correspondents. But when the gov- 
ernor of the State of New York makes such an assertion as 
that above quoted in a periodical having the standing of the 
Century Magazine, it appears to me that as a matter of justice 
and of historical record some one having a knowledge of the 
facts should reply. 

As to the bureaus in Washington being "absolutely 
enmeshed in red tape," I believe that an impartial investiga- 
tion will show that there is no more red tape in the army than 
in the navy. The methods of business ("red tape") pursued 
in the various bureaus of the War Department are based upon 
laws enacted by Congress, and regulations, based upon past 
military experience, which were carefully revised as recently 
as 1895 by a board of officers appointed by the Hon. Daniel 
S. Lamont, then Secretary of War. Bureau chiefs are subject 
to these laws and regulations, and it is evident that without 
a well-established system the administration of the various 
departments would be in a chaotic condition. That there is no 
room for improvement it would l>e foolish to contend ; but the 
present system, so far as army regulations are concerned, is 
the result of many years of experience and of constant efforts 
for improvement by a series of more or less efficient bureau 
chiefs and Secretaries of War. 

During the war with Spain and subsequently, urgent busi- 
ness with the various bureaus of the War Department has 
been largely conducted by telegraph, and that kind of "red 
tape" which leads to delay in the transaction of important 
business has to a considerable extent been done away with. 
The bureau officers have acted in harmony and those who are 
familiar with the facts know that each one has devoted himself 
with untiring energy to the dispatch of public business, and 
that so far as was compatible with existing laws and regula- 
tions they have endeavored to do away with "red tape." 

Governor Roosevelt informs the readers of the Century 
Magazine that the bureaus in Washington "were held for the 
most part by elderly men, of tine records in the past, who were 
no longer fit to break through routine," etc. The bureau 
officers of the navy, on the other hand, are commended and 
the inference is that they were much younger and more active 
men. Let us, for a moment, consider the facts. The Chief of 
the Bureau of Navigation in the navy, as regards his duties, 
may best be compared with the Adjutant-General of the army, 
although the work of the Adjutant-General's Office is many 
times greater, especially when large numbers of volunteer 
troops are called into service. Admiral Crownshield was 55 
years old when war with Spain was declared. Adjutant- 



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 207 

General Corbin was also 55 years old, but looks five years 
younger. He is a man of powerful physique, of untiring 
energy and of great executive ability. As assistants in his 
office he has had General Schwan, Lieut. Col. Carter, Major 
Heistand, Major Johnston and Major Simpson. All men of 
marked ability, all having had ample experience as line 
officers, and all, with the exception of General Schwan, less 
than 50 years of age. The Adjutant-General himself was a 
line officer for eighteen years. Probably few of the bureau 
officers of the navy have been to sea more years than this. 

The duties devolving upon the Commissary-General and 
Quartermaster-General of the Army, in the Navy pertain to 
the office of the Paymaster-General. Paymaster-General 
Stewart of the navy was past sixty years of age when war 
was declared. The Quartermaster-General of the Army was 
a vigorous man of 58, who has stood the enormous strain of 
the war period without breaking down in health or relaxing 
his strenuous efforts to meet the enormous demands upon his 
department for transportation, clothing, camp and garrison 
equipage, etc., etc. 

General Egan, Commissary-General, was 57 years old when 
war was declared. He certainly cannot justly be accused of 
want of physical vigor or mental activity. The Inspector- 
General of the Army was but 56 years old when war was 
declared. The Surgeon-General was 59 years old, nearly two 
years older than the Surgeon-General of the Navy. The Engi- 
neer in Chief in charge of the Bureau of Steam Engineering 
of the Navy, was 57 years old ; the Chief of the Bureau of 
Equipment 54; the Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance 56. 
General Wilson, Chief of Engineers, is certainly one of the 
most vigorous and able men in the War Department; he was 
60 years old when war was declared. General Greely, Chief 
Signal Officer, was only 54. 

The argument of Governor Roosevelt in favor of detailing 
line officers of the army for duty in charge of the bureaus of 
the War Department receives no support from the practice in 
the Navy so far as the Quartermaster, Commissary and Medi- 
cal Departments are concerned. The Paymaster-General^ 
Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering and Surgeon- 
General of the Navy are not detailed officers of the line and 
evidently could not be without prejudice to the interests of the 
service. In the army the officers of the Adjutant-General's 
and of the Inspector-General's Department have always been 
selected from the line of the army, and as a rule the Commis- 
saries and Quartermasters have also been line officers of 
experience. Under present laws no others are appointed. In 
the scientific corps of the army — Engineer and Ordnance — 
the si>ecial knowledge required is of such a nature that it may 



208 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

be doubted whether it would be in the interest of the service 
to detail line officers to administer the affairs of these bureaus 
of the War Department. Certainly it would be a difficult task 
to name any officers of the line as competent to fill these places 
as are the present distinguished incumbents, General Wilson 
and General Buffington. 

Finally, I would say that, with three exceptions — General 
Egan, Commissary-General, General Flagler, Chief of Ord- 
nance, who died in March, 1899, and the Paymaster-General, 
who was retired for age in January, 1899, the bureau officers 
of the War Department are the same as those upon whom was 
thrown the resix)nsibility of providing for an army of 260,000 
men in the spring of 1898. Time is an essential element in all 
great undertakings, and it takes time to organize and equip 
an army as well as to build a battleship. No amount of money 
or energy would enable the bureau officers of the Navy to 
build a battleship in three months, and it is unreasonable to 
hold the bureau officers of the War Department responsible 
for the unavoidable difficulties and failures connected with the 
organization and equipment of a large army after war was 
declared. That we were not better prepared was not the fault 
of the War Department, for supplies could not be purchased 
without money and our estimates have for years been cut 
down by Congress. What can be accomplished by the War 
Department when the necessar>' money is appropriated and a 
reasonable time allowed for the accomplishment of the objects 
in view is shown by the organization, equipment and trans- 
portation of the troops now in the Philippines and on their 
way there ; by the magnificent fleet of transports and hospital 
ships now owned by the Government ; by the model hospitals 
which have been established in this countr)', in the Philippines 
and in Cuba, and, in short, by the magnificent results attained 
during the war with Spain and since, notwithstanding the 
"unpreparedness" to which Governor Roosevelt refers, and 
which cannot be denied, but for which it is rank injustice to 
hold the chiefs of bureaus of the War Department responsible. 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

SQENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE 
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 

General Sternberg notwithstanding the many hours of 
anxiety and the responsibiHties connected with the medical 
administration of the war never lost interest in scientific 
research, to the development of which he had devoted the best 
years of his life. His continued interest is attested by the 
appointment of various boards for investigation into the 
etiology and prevention of important diseases. Reference has 
already been made to the appointment of a board of sanitary 
experts for making a searching study of the causes of the 
extensive prevalence of typhoid fever in the military camps. 
Another board for the same purpose was appointed in the 
Philippine Islands. 

BOARD FOR STUDY OF TROPICAL DISEASES 

But General Sternberg did not limit his interest to typhoid 
fever, for it is noted in the report of the Surgeon-General for 
1900 "that on his recommendation a board of medical officers 
consisting of Dr. Jere B. Qayton, Dr. Richard P. Strong, 
Assistant Surgeons, U. S. Army, and Acting Assistant Surgeon 
Joseph J. Curry, was appointed to meet at one of the general 
hospitals in or near Manila, P. I. for the purpose of studying 
tropical diseases as they occur in those Islands. Special 
attention should be given to tropical dysentery, to the malarial 
fevers prevailing in the Philippines, to beriberi, to intestinal 
parasites, and in general to all tropical diseases, the etiology 
of which has not been completely worked out." 

Excellent work was done by the members of this board and 
their associates in the laboratories of the large hospitals, 
which may be briefly summarized. 

ISOLATION OF BACILLUS DYSENTERIAE 

Lieut. Richard P. Strong made a careful study of dysentery 
cases in the laboratory of the First Reser\'e Hospital, Manila, 
in which work he was assisted by hospital steward, W. E. Mus- 



210 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

grave, M.D., pathologist of the hospital. A report of the 
results of these investigations was issued June 17, 1900. 
During a period of ten months prior to this date, 9,063 cases 
were treated in the hospital and 1,328 (14,64 per cent.) of 
these were cases of dysentery. Of the latter patients, 581 were 
returned to duty, 125 ended fatally in the hospital, 2^ were 
transferred to other hospitals in the Philippines, and 336 were 
sent to the United States for possible benefit from the sea 
voyage and change of climate. The studies included 111 
necropsies on dysenteric cases, twenty-one of which were 
classified on anatomic grounds as acute si>ecific dysentery. A 
bacillus was isolated in seventeen of these twenty-one cases, 
and in two of eleven subacute cases. In one of the former 
and two of the latter, the bacillus was not looked for; in 
twenty-six of the amebic cases the bacillus was not found and 
in the remaining fifty-three it was not sought, while in sixty- 
eight of seventy-nine amebic cases, motile Amoebae dysenteriae 
were found. The bacillus isolated by Drs. Strong and Mus- 
grave is similar to that discovered by Shiga in Kitasato's 
laboratory in 1898, and is today recognized as the specific 
cause of bacillary dysentery. 

Splendid work was also done by Dr. Charles F. Craig on 
subacute and chronic dysentery at the U. S. General Hospital 
at tlie Presidio of San Francisco, where he gave close atten- 
tion to cases coming from Manila. He isolated a bacillus 
identical with that found by Dr. Flexner in Manila, previously 
described by Shiga, which was pathogenic to small animals. 

PL.\GUE IN MANILA 

In December, 1899, bubonic plague appeared in Manila. 
The first two cases occurred in the same house and were 
reported as typhoid fever. The disease prevailed for seven 
months, during which 225 cases were reported with fifty-eight 
recoveries, while from forty to eighty Chinese died from 
unknown cause without medical attendance ; some of these pre- 
sumably were victims of plague. Lieut. W. J. Calvert. Assist- 
ant Surgeon U. S. Army, then on duty with the board of health 
in Manila, was sent on a special visit to Japan and China, for 
the purpose of studying the measures in use in dealing with 
epidemic plague. 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 211 

In connection with this subject, General Sternberg says: 

Fortunately this outbreak gave opportunity for competent 
bacteriologists to make scientific investigation in relation to 
the specific cause of this scourge of the human race and to the 
demonstration that it is due to a minute bacillus. The dis- 
covery was first made by the Japanese bacteriologist, Kitasato, 
who had received his training in the laboratory of the famous 
Prof. Robert Koch of Berlin. This discovery was made in 
the month of June, 1894, in one of the hospitals estabHshed 
by the English officials in Hongkong. About the same time, 
the discovery was made independently by the French bacteri- 
ologist, Yersin. From this time, the study of the plague has 
been established upon a scientific basis, and several material 
additions have been made to our knowledge with reference to 
the prevention and treatment of the disease. We have learned 
that certain of the lower animals, including rats and mice, are 
very susceptible to infection, and they play an important part 
in the propagation of the disease; also that the germs are 
found not only in the blood and in the pus from suppurating 
buboes, but also in the discharge from the bowels of infected 
individuals. This being the case, it can readily be seen how 
important a strict sanitary police is in arresting the spread of 
an epidemic. As in other filth diseases in which the germ is 
present in the excreta of the sick, insects, and especially fleas 
and house flies probably play an important part in the spread 
of the disease."* 



1. The good work of medical officers initiated by General Stern- 
berg did not cease, as Lieut. -Col. C. C. McCulloch (Scientific Monthly, 
May, 1917, p. 424) informs us. Captain Craig in the Philippines 
"demonstrated that intracorpuscular conjugation in the parasites of 
malarial fever is the cause of latency and relapses of the disease, and 
that these are malaria carriers, that is persons who carry the malarial 
parasites about with them without being affected by the disease. In 
1906, Craig discovered a new parasite associated with dysenteric 
infections, the Paramoeba (now called Craigia) hotninis. With Major 
Percy M. Ashbum, he discovered another parasite, Microfilaria phtlli- 
pinensis, in 1906, and demonstrated that the cause of dengue or break- 
bone fever is a filterable virus transmitted by the mosquito Culex 
fatigans (1907). In the Philippines also, Capt. Edward B. Vedder made 
important investigations of beriberi, a tropical form of neuritis which 
has been attributed to an exclusive diet of highly milled or polished 
rice. It was found that the disease is what is now termed a "defi- 
ciency disease," that is, one caused by a diet deficient in certain sub- 
stances necessary to the physiological economy of the body." 



212 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

DISCOVERY OF HOOKWORM IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE 

The Spanish- American War demonstrated the existence of 
the so-called hookworm disease in the Western hemisphere. 
The disease had been recognized as a true soil disease for a 
number of years, certainly since 1879 when Perroncito demon- 
strated that the general anemia and debility among the miners 
in the construction of the St. Gothard tunnel was caused by 
this intestinal parasite. The worm is about one-half or two- 
thirds inch in length and of the thickness of a pin and produces 
its evil effects by attaching itself to the upper portion of the 
intestine and by generating toxins. 

It was, however, through the labors of Dr. Bailey K. Ash- 
ford, a graduate of the Army Medical School, that the prev- 
alence of the disease on this continent was brought to atten- 
tion. He demonstrated, in 1899, that the pale, dropsical and 
debilitated condition of the peasant population of Porto Rico, 
was not the result of malaria, starvation and other suspected 
causes, but was due to infestation by the hookworm. He isolated 
the parasite from the dejections of the natives, and showed 
conclusively that the disease was amenable to preventive and 
curative therapy. It was pointed out that in the rural districts 
of Porto Rico, where the disease is most common, there are 
practically no privies and the soil is promiscuously polluted 
with fecal matter, as many as fifty larvae having been known 
to cling to a bit of soil the size of a pea. The larvae penetrated 
the sound skin of the barefooted farm laborers, causing 
"ground itch" and the disease was also conveyed by infected 
food and water. The economic importance of hookworm dis- 
ease is apparent when it is considered that about 800,000 (90 
per cent.) of the laborers in the coffee and sugar plantations 
of Porto Rico were infected. In 1902, Prof. Stiles of the 
Public Health Service demonstrated that hookworm disease 
was prevalent in our southern states, and that it was respons- 
ible for great economic losses, just as Dr. Ash ford had shown it 
to be the industrial curse of Porto Rico. Indeed much of the 
so-called chronic malaria, ignorance, poverty and general 
inefficiency in the world's tropical and subtropical belts could 
be attributed to hookworm infection. The number of victims 
in the United States has been estimated at 2.000,000 and the 
economic loss at $100,000,000 per year. Dr. Ash ford's cam- 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 213 

paign against hookworm disease in Porto Rico resulted in cure 
in the majority of cases, led the way to similar efforts else- 
where, and inspired the program of the Rockefeller Foun- 
dation for world wide eradication of the disease. 

YELLOW FEVER COMMISSION 

The most important and most brilliant piece of research 
work during this period was accomplished by a board 
appointed on the recommendation of General Sternberg in 
May, 1900, to meet at Camp Columbia, Quemados, Cuba, for 
the purpose of pursuing scientific investigations of the infec- 
tious diseases prevaihng in the Island of Cuba, with special 
reference to yellow fever. 

The board was composed of Surgeon Walter Reed, Contract 
Surgeons James Carroll, Aristides Agramonte, and Jesse W. 
Lazear, U. S. Army. By a series of painstaking experiments 
it was demonstrated that the virus of yellow fever is trans- 
mitted by a certain species of mosquito {Stegomyia fasciata)^ 
and the theory that the disease could be conveyed in fomites, 
or that it was contagious in the ordinary acceptance of the 
term was disproved conclusively. The practical application of 
this discovery resulted in the eradication of the scourge from 
Havana by Dr. William C. Gorgas (lately Surgeon-General, 
U. S. Army), and in the sanitary achievements contributing 
to the successful building of the Panama Canal. 

I may be pardoned for calling attention to the fact, that 
when this commission was appointed, the alleged discovery by 
Dr. Giuseppe Sanarelli of a specific Bacillus icteroides had 
been confirmed by a commission of the Public Health and 
Marine Hospital Service. Had General Sternberg accepted 
this as conclusive, we might still be periodically visited by epi- 
demics of yellow fever and the Panama Canal would probably 
be far from completion. 

It is not my purpose to detract in the slightest degree from 
the brilliant work of Dr. Walter Reed and his brave associates 
of the Yellow Fever Commission, but as a loyal wife and one 
familiar with the research work of my lamented husband on 
the etiology of yellow fever, which culminated in the find- 
ings of the Reed board, I may be privileged to present certain 
illuminating facts. This is all the more important since the 



214 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

medical profession was not generally informed of General 
Sternberg's preliminary work, while credit for the appoint- 
ment of the commission was even given to others, as is shown 
by a letter from Dr. William H. Welch of Johns Hopkins 
Medical School, April 16, 1910, in which he says: 

"As all that relates to the history and work of this com- 
mission is highly important, permit me to say that the credit 
for the creation of this commission belongs solely to General 
Sternberg, who had previously so completely exhausted the 
purely bacteriologic study of yellow fever that it was pos- 
sible for the commission to follow the new direction which 
proved so fruitful in results." 

Among the official papers left by my husband T Tind the 

following : 

Surgeon-General's Office, 
Washington. Mav 23rd. 1900. 

To the Adjutant-General of the Army: 

I have the honor to recommend that Major Walter Reed. 
Surgeon, U. S. Army, and Contract Surgeon James Carroll, 
U. §. Army, be ordered to proceed from this city to Camp 
Columbia, Cuba, reporting their arrival and instructions to 
the commanding officer of the post. 

I also recommend the organization of a medical board \%nth 
headquarters at Camp Columbia for the purpose of pursuing 
scientific investigations with reference to the infectious dis- 
eases prevalent «mi the Island of Cuba and especially of yellow 
fever. 

The board is to bo constiiuicd as follows: 

Major Walter Reed. Surgeon U. S. Army; Contract Sur- 
geon James Carroll. U. S. Army, and Contract Surgeons 
Aristides Agramonte and Jesse W. Lazear, U. S. Army. . . 

The board should act under general instructions which \\nll 
be communicated to Major Reed by the Surgeon-General of 

the Army. 

Very respectfully, 

Geo. M. Sternberg, 
Surgeon-General, U. S. Army. 

Major Walter Reed, at that time professor of bacteriology 
at the Army Medical School, was splendidly equipped for the 
duty and perfectly familiar with General Sternberg's pre- 
liminary work. They had been close friends for years and 
enjoyed each other's confidence, and a better selection could 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 215 

not have been made in the personnel of the board. Dr. 
Aristides Agramonte, the only surviving member of the board, 
has reviewed the various steps which culminated so success- 
fully. He writes regarding the preliminary instructions : 

On the afternoon of June 25, 1900, the four officers met for 
the first time in their new capacity on the veranda of the 
officers' quarters at Columbia Barracks Hospital. We were 
fully appreciative of the trust, and aware of the responsibility 
placed upon us, and with a feeling akin to reverence heard 
the instructions which Major Reed had brought from the 
Surgeon General (Dr. Sternberg). They comprised the 
investigation also of malaria, leprosy, and unclassified febrile 
conditions, and were given with such detail and precision as 
only a man of General Sternberg's experience and knowledge 
in such matters could have prepared. . . . 

July 2 we resumed our routine investigations, not only in 
Quemadoes, where the disease was being stamped out, but also 
in Havana at "Las Animas" Hospital and at Military Hospital 
No. 1, where my laboratory (the division laboratory) was 
located. There was no scarcity of material and the two 
members who until then had never seen a case of yellow fever 
(Major Reed and Dr. Carroll) had ample opportunities to 
become acquainted with the many details of its clinical picture 
which escape the ordinary practitioner.* 

The official history of this board records the fact that Dr. 
Carroll and Dr. Lazear volunteered to be bitten by infected 
mosquitoes. Dr. Lazear contracted the disease and died after a 
short illness. Dr. Carroll had a severe attack of yellow fever, 
a slow convalescence, and was permanently disabled thereafter 
because of involvement of the heart, from which he died 
some years later. Major Walter Reed died from appendicitis, 
Nov. 23, 1902, while Dr. Aristides Agramonte, the surviving 
member, is resident in Cuba, where he is engaged in scientific 
and professional work. All honor and glory to these phy- 
sicians, to Private Kissinger (the first volunteer) and others, 
who in the interest of humanity and for the cause of science 
faced danger and even death, in order to make a demonstra- 
tion of inestimable value to mankind. Many of the details of 
this fruitful work are recorded in several papers by General 



1. Scientific Monthly, Dec, 1915, p. 216. 



216 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Sternberg,^ and in a contribution presented posthumously at 
the Second Pan-American Scientific Congress, in December, 
1915. 

Perhaps the best summary of General Sternberg's rela- 
tion to this important discovery is contained in the following 
abstract of a report of a committee composed by Drs. G. 
Wythe Cook, George M. Kober, and D. Olin Leech presented 
at the joint memorial meeting of the Medical Society and the 
Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis of the 
District of Columbia, Jan. 19, 1916, in respect for General 
Sternberg. 

Dr. Sternberg's investigations with reference to the etiology 
of yellow fever date back to 1871, although his search for 
the specific organism commenced in Havana in 1879, while 
a member of the Havana Yellow Fever Commission, and 
was continued for about ten years. During this time he twice 
returned to Havana during the months of yellow fever 
prevalence, and visited Rio de Janeiro and Wra Cruz, also the 
town of Decatur, Ala., during the epidemic of 1888. His report, 
published at the conclusion of these extended investigations, 
shows that all researches to that date had failed to demonstrate 
the specific cause of yellow fever. He showed that the generally 
accepted claims of Domingos Freire, of Brazil, to have dis- 
covered the germ of this disease — his Cryptococcus xanthogeni- 
fiw — and a method of producing immunity by inoculations, had 
no scientific foundation. He also showed that the bacillus of 
Gibicr, Carlos Finlay's Micrococcus tctragcnus fchris fiat'ac. 
and the various microorganisms encountered by himself and 
by other investigators bore no etiologic relation to the disease. 
At the International Medical Congress, held in Berlin in August, 
1890, Dr. Kober translated Dr. Sternberg's letter to Professor 
Hirsch, giving a synopsis of his work and stating that so far the 
specific organism of yellow fever had not been discovered. It 
certainly speaks well for his painstaking work that even now, 
when we know that the infectious agent is transmitted through 
the sting of a mosquito, and the search has narrowed down to 
the body of this insect, it has not been isolated and neither he 
nor others have found it, probably because it is ultramicro- 
scopic. 

Having exhausted the resources at his command in the 
search for the germ of yellow fever by microscopical examina- 
tion of the blood tissues, by culture methods and by experiments 



1. The Transmission of Yellow Fever. Popular Science Monthly. 
July. 1901. Sanitary Problems Connected with Construction of the 
Panama Canal, North American Review. September, 1902. 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 217 

on the lower animals, he felt that the only method left which 
offered any promise of success was that of direct experiment 
on men. If the blood of a yellow fever patient contained the 
specific infectious agent, this should be shown by inoculating a 
nonimmune individual with such blood. 

This line of research, we are informed, was pointed out 
by Surgeon-General Sternberg to Maj. Walter Reed, chairman 
of the Yellow Fever Commission in 1900, as was also the 
probability that it would ultimately be found that the disease is 
transmitted from man to man by an intermediate host.^ 

In justice to all concerned it should be remembered that 
when this commission was organized by General Sternberg 
the claim of the distinguished bacteriologist Sanarelli to have 
demonstrated the etiologic relation of his Bacillus icteroides was 
generally accepted, and had been upheld by two medical officers 
of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, sent to 
Cuba for the special purix)se of investigating this claim. To 
General Sternberg it appeared impossible that a bacillus, which 
is easily demonstrated under the microscope, and which grows 
in ordinary culture media, could have escaped his observation 
during his extended researches if it were in fact the specific 
cause of yellow fever. The only possibility of such causal 
connection seems to him to depend upon the identification of 
Sanarelli's bacillus as identical with a certain bacillus found by 
Sternberg in a limited number of cases during his researches in 
Havana. A comparison of cultures of the micro-organisms 
made by Major Reed at the Army Medical Museum and also 
by Dr. Agramonte,^' 1899-1900, showed that they were not 
identical, and General Sternberg, being satisfied that Sanarelli's 
bacillus was not concerned in the etiology of yellow fever, 
organized in 1900 the Yellow Fever Commission, with Major 
Reed as chairman. Major Reed's investigation resulted in the 



1. The written instructions are for obvious reasons silent upon the 
subject of experimentation upon man. Dr. Aristides Agramonte, a 
member of the Commission, in the Scientific Monthly for December, 
1915, published a letter from Major Reed dated May 25, 1900, from 
which we quote the following: "It will be our duty under verbal 
instructions from the Surgeon-General to continue the investigation 
of the causation of yellow fever." 

2. Dr. Agramonte worked on this problem during the Santiago 
Campaign in 1898 and afterwards with Reed and Carroll in the bac- 
teriologic laboratory of the Army Medical Museum. He was ordered 
to Havana in December, 1898, with instructions from General Stern- 
berg and power to do all that might be necessary to clear up, the 
problem. In 1899, Drs. Geddings and Wardin submitted a report 
affirming that Sanarelli's bacillus was present in almost all the cases, 
while Dr. Agramonte denied that it had such specific character, and 
showed its occurrence in cases not yellow fever He continued his 
researches until appointed a member of the Commission. 



218 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

demonstration that in yellow fever the Sf>ecific infectious agent 
is present in the blood of those suffering from the disease, and 
that the usual and probably only method of transmission of the 
disease is through the bites of mosquitoes of the genus 
Stegomyia. This brillant demonstration by Reed and his col- 
leagues has furnished the necessary basis for preventive mea- 
sures which have been applied with entire success in the yellow 
fever zone, and the practical results are of incalculable value 
to mankind. 

The members of your committee do not consider it unfair 
to the memory of Major Reed and his colleagues, when they 
declare that much of the success achieved was rendered pos- 
sible by the preliminary work of Dr. Sternberg, who had elimi- 
nated numerous errors committed by others, and had contested 
and overthrown the claims of several bacteriologists for the 
discovery of the specific organism. His conviction that all 
former claims were unfounded, or remained to be proven, is 
clearly evinced by the appointment of a commission which he 
personally selected. 

It may be truly said that no history of this important dis- 
covery is complete without a just presentation of Sternberg's 
preliminary work. In giving due credit to all the participants 
of this splendid piece of research, it must be remembered that 
all of his work was of the highest scientific value, and his daily 
contact with the sick, his autopsies and bacteriologic investiga- 
tions in different countries and climes in search of the yellow 
fever organism, involved at least the same risks and heroism 
displayed by members of the Yellow Fever Commission. 

In supporting the foregoing statement your committee sub- 
mits the following testimony from Dr. Aristides Agramonte, 
the only surviving member of the Yellow Fever Commission, 
who, on Jan. 3, 1916, wrote to Dr. Kober as follows : "With 
regard to our work I may say that General Sternberg's instruc- 
tions to Major Reed were so precise yet so complete that they 
embraced even human experimentation, a thing until then con- 
sidered well nigh impossible, and. without the moral support 
which his reputation as a scientist of the highest order and his 
official position rendered us. I am sure we would have never 
undertaken the method of investigation with wlii.-V> vr^n are 
familiar. 

I feel in my heart that in the greatest achievement oi modem 
medicine, the almost total extinction of yellow fever in our 
hemisphere, he took an important part that has not been gen- 
erally recocniized. in spite of vour pointing it out in vour speech 
(Tun'eS. 1908). 

I say an important part and I would be tempted to say the 
most important part, since by the elimination of many confusing 
and erroneous ideas with reference to the cause of the disease, 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 219 

obtained by his indefatigable work in South America and 
Central America, he cleared the way for us who came after 
him, laboring in the same field of investigation; he saved us 
the work, and thus the waste of effort and time which it would 
have entailed, by dealing with the fallacies in vogue during 
the last quarter of the nineteenth century, elucidating the ques- 
tion of yellow fever in a manner nearly complete." 

In addition to this just and beautiful appreciation of Stem- 
berg's work we also refer to the following resolution, adopted 
Dec. 29, 1915, in which the section of public health and medical 
science of the Second Pan-American Congress ''conscious of 
the irreparable loss suffered by the recent death of one of the 
most eminent workers in the field of etiology and preventive 
medicine, a pioneer in bacteriologic investigation in America 

Resolved to express its profound condolence to the family 
of the late General George M. Sternberg, and to the Govern- 
ment of the United States, in whose army his counsel and 
labors were so fruitful." 

It may not be amiss to quote from a letter from Hon. Elihu 
Root, one time Secretary of War, under whom General Stern- 
berg had the pleasure of serving. This tribute was published 
in the Congressional Record, Aug, 5, 1916, fourteen years 
after the retirement of General Sternberg from active service, 
and it forms a just appreciation of the labors of those engaged 
in preventive medicine. 

Dear Mrs. Sternberg: I have received your letter of March 
6, and I respond heartily to the very moderate statements which 
you make regarding General Sternberg's merits and the claims 
of his memory to recognition by Congress. Senator GalHnger's 
bill does not rest alone upon long and faithful service, includ- 
ing both the Civil War and the War with Spain, but chiefly 
and distinctively upon the great part which General Sternberg 
played in the service rendered by the Medical Corps of the 
Army in the nine years during which he was Surgeon-General. 

The practical extirpation of yellow fever in Cuba and on the 
Isthmus of Panama and the development of methods of pre- 
ventive medicine which have secured the phenomenal freedom 
from typhoid in recent years are achievements in which the 
Medical Corps of the Army bore a great part and won the 
highest distinction. Congress has paid great honor to the med- 
ical officers who in the field and in the camp became dis-' 
tinguished for their part in this extraordinary work. Let no 
one think, however, that the man who was at the head of the 
corps can be left out of account of this creditable record. 
Such things do not happen by accident. No body of men 



220 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

accomplishes what our medical officers accomplished except 
in response to leadership, incitement, encouragement, oppor- 
tunity, motive power, coming from the head of the corps. 

The Medical Corps accomplished what it did largely because 
the man at the top was a pioneer in bacteriology, an advance 
worker in protective medicine, and had the enthusiasm and 
devotion through which science wins victories. That spirit 
communicated itself to the corps, directed its energies, made 
the field of opportunity for scientific effort, kept good men in it, 
brought good men into it, and furnished the indispensable 
element of leadership without which the work could not have 
been done. General Sternberg was the general commanding in 
that campaign. /Congress has been honoring his subordinates 
gratefully and properly. It is all wrong that there should be 
no appreciation for the commander. I have not received yet 
the copies of resolutions, etc., which you have sent, but I do 
not need them for I know about this subject myself u{>on the 
experience of four years and a half, during which it was my 
business to observe and estimate the influences working for and 
against efficiency in the War Department. 

Dr. J. H. Gallinger, senator from New Hampshire, wrote 
under date of March 18. 1916: 

I have read Senator Root's letter to you with the greatest 
interest. What he says about General Sternberg is the simple 
truth and I feel sure that the medical profession of the country 
would endorse every word of it. 

Some details of the painstaking methods and the progress 
of the experimental investigations of the Yellow Fever Com- 
mission may be gleaned from the following letters of Major 
Reed to the Surgeon-General: 

LETTERS FROM M.\JOR WALTER REED 

My Dear General Sternberg: Your favor of the 22d inst. 

enclosing a letter from Dr. Vaughan has been received. . . . 
We arrived at this Camp, Monday afternoon, the 25th, and 
were soon comfortably provided for by Dr. Stark. We have 
already organized as a Board and have begun work. Yester- 
day we took careful cultures from two cases that have slightly 
passed the most active stage. Lazear has cuhures from three 
autopsies to be worked up. This afternoon we will take cultures 
from the blood of a case admitted to camp hospital last evening 
and will continue to take cultures each successive day. We 
can get material from another case at the detention camp. Upon 
my recommendation. Agramonte appears to have adopted wise 
measures here. Lazear and I will go probably to Cienfucgos 
next week to look into an epidemic of malarial fever amongst 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 221 

Second Infantry there. Our baggage (laboratory equipment) 
did not arrive on Sedgwick. Have asked General Humphrey 
to cable Q. M. General to have it forwarded by Ward Line of 
steamers. Please assist us at your end of the line. 

Sincerely yours, 

Walter Reed. 

I have been unable to find any letters from Dr. Reed indi- 
cating the progress of the work of the commission between 
June 27, and October 22, but the official records disclose that 
three cases of yellow fever, believed to be the direct result of 
mosquito inoculations, were under observation. Two of the 
patients were members of the board, Drs. Jesse W, Lazear and 
James Carroll, who voluntarily submitted themselves to experi- 
mentation. Dr. Carroll suffered a severe attack of the disease 
and recovered, but Dr. Lazear fell a victim in the cause of 
science, Sept. 25, 1900. About the same time, nine other 
volunteers were bitten by mosquitoes ; in these cases the result 
was negative. The results of the investigations by the Yellow 
Fever Board up to October 22, were presented in a preliminary 
note read by Dr. Reed at the meeting of the American Public 
Health Association at Indianapolis. 

Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 22, 1900. 
Dear General Sternberg: 

Just as I was leaving the city, I dropped you a postal sug- 
gesting that the words "with his full consent" be erased in 
the cases of Carroll (page 12) and Lazear (page 20), as their 
absence from the history of T. C. Y. might attract attention 
and lead to the inference that his inoculation was done without 
his consent. . . . 

I will, also, ask that you will turn to the last page of MSS. 
(22) beginning "since we here," etc. Let the first paragraph 
stand as it is, but change the rest as follows : 

From our study thus far of yellow fever, we draw the fol- 
lowing conclusions : 

1. Bacillus icteroides (Sanarelli) stands in no causative rela- 
tion to yellow fever, but, when present, should be considered 
as a secondary invader in this disease. 

2. The mosquito serves as the intermediate host for the 
parasite of yellow fever. 

Strike out the remainder "and it is highly probable that" 
etc., as this is merely an expression of opinion which may 



222 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

turn out to be right or wrong. Future observations can only 
determine this point — of course, conclusions 1 and 2 in your 
copy are to be erased entirely. . . . 

Columbia Barracks, Quemados, Cuba. 

Nov. 13, 1900. 
My Dear General Sternberg: 

. . . My voyage down was fairly pleasant, although 
I was as usual a victim to sea sickness. I have been very busy 
trying to get our experimental station started. Have secured 
a good location and hope to have the detachment go out on 
Thursday, 15th. I have already had three candidates to offer 
themselves for the mosquito inoculation and will have no dif- 
ficulty in getting subjects for the infected bedding and clothing 
experiments. (I hope that you will not mention this to any- 
one). The diftkulty before us now will be largely due to the 
marked change in the temperature. It is now 62 ' — with a 
strong north-west wind. Has been cold ever since I arrived. 
As the result of this past week's cool weather, cases have drop- 
ped from 100 to 76, and I supix)se we may expect a still further 
reduction in about from 5 to 7 days. If it were only August 1, 
everything would be plain sailing, but I forsec that we will be 
much handicapped by the weather. 

We will have our small experimental buildings heated, if 
necessary, and in that way, hope to counteract the outside 
temperature. 

Dr. Carroll arrived this afternoon and will at once take up 
the work. 

Nov. 26. 1900. 

. . . At this writing, the experimental station is nearly 
completed and we have already begun on our observations. 
We have several individuals. American and Sf>anish, willing to 
take bites or blood injections, and we hope to be able to decide 
some of the vexed questions in the etiologv- of this disease. 
We anticipate considerable trouble concerning the rearing of 
our mosquitoes during this cooler weather. Unless we can keep 
them alive from eighteen to twenty- four days after the infec- 
tion, we could not expect positive results, since it required 
twelve to sixteen days in the hotter weather of August to enable 
them to convey the disease. 

Some of the Havana papers, especially La Discussion have 
abused us soundly and have charged us with all kinds 
of inhumanity and barbarity ; but since the Spanish consul, a 
most courteous and intelligent gentleman, assures us that we 
shall have his support, as long as we do not use minors and 
the individual gives his written consent, I am not at all dis- 
turbed by these newspaper attacks. . . . 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 223 

Dec. 14, 1900. 
Within three weeks of the establishment of our experi- 
mental station, I am able to report two cases of yellow fever 
brought about by the bites of infected mosquitoes — one occur- 
ring suddenly at 11 : 30 p. m., December 8, and the second 9 : 30 
p. m., December 12. Both cases have been seen and carefully 
examined by the board of experts, consisting of Drs. Guiteras, 
Finlay, Gorgas and Albertini, and both have been pronounced 
to be unmistakable cases of yellow fever. I thought it best 
to have these gentlemen of acknowledged experience see all 
of our cases. This they have gladly done, visiting our first case 
on the 9th, 11th, and again today. Although our second case 
is only in his second day, the symptoms are unmistakable. A 
third case bitten on the 11th at 4:30 p. m., began to sicken 
yesterday afternoon, with some fever and headache, and has, 
today, developed a temperature of 100.8°. I think that he will 
be removed early tomorrow morning, as his symptoms point 
plainly in that direction. Concerning a fourth case, bitten three 
days ago, it is as yet too early to pronounce an opinion. Our 
three nonimmunes have already passed fourteen nights in a 
house horribly infected with clothing and bedding without 
showing any symptoms whatever. Perhaps it is yet too early to 
pronounce an opinion as to the probability of their escape. 
Taken altogether, we feel very much pleased with our results, 
and believe that, with your kind permission, we should present a 
supplementary note to the Pan-American Congress in February 
next. 

I am glad that our first case, now in his sixth day, is doing 
very well. It is too early to give a prognosis in our second 
case. In view of these results, I would like to know whether 
you consider it necessary that we should try blood injections, 
as you suggested when I last saw you. Any other suggestions 
that you may make, will be much appreciated. 

Dec. 16, 1900. 
I cabled you again, today, as I thought that you would be 
pleased to hear that success was still attending our efforts. 
Our fourth case sickened yesterday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, 
and at 9 p. m., had a temperature of 104.2 °. Four cases out of 
five inoculations is quite satisfactory, we think. This morning 
Drs. Guiteras, Finlay and Albertini were again here to see our 
third and fourth cases. Like the first two, the diagnosis was 
very plain and hence they very promptly pronounced the cases 
to be yellow fever, our first three we consider out of danger. 
The last man is still quite sick. Our third case was a very 
mild one. Although coming down four and one-half hours 
within the usual period of incubation — five days — he could have 
passed quarantine on the morning of his sixth day, and would 



224 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

have been the focus of one of those epidemics ascribed to 
infected bedding, or the unpacking of trunk. For this reason, 
it is, to me, the most interesting case of the series. This week I 
hope to loose infected mosquitoes in our building No. 2, my 
intention being to demonstrate conclusively how a building 
becomes infected. Of course, every precaution has been taken 
to prevent the escape of these insects. My control subjects 
will keep on the uninfected side of the building, being pro- 
tected by a fine wire-screen partition but breathing the same 
atmosphere. I have to ask as a special favor that Acting Assist- 
ant Surgeon R. P. Cooke, who so courageously volunteered 
to take charge of affairs in our horribly infected clothing build- 
ing No. 1, may not have his contract annulled, but may be sent 
to duty in the Philippines, if he can not remain in Cuba. His 
interest in the work deserves, I think, this consideration from 
the Department. 
The search for the parasite will be next in order. 

Dec. 22. 1900. 

I write to request that Dr. McConnell, of the Museum, may 
be sent down to join us on the next transport leaving New 
York. I would like to have him make drawings of the mosquito 
and larvae from live specimens. There is some other work 
here which he could also do. He should bring camera lucida 
and suitable paper for doing this work. 

I would like also to be made a delegate to the Pan-American 
Congress, if you approve of our presenting a supplementary 
note at this meeting. 

Jan. 1. 1901. 
I am in receipt of your letter informing me that I would be 
detailed as a delegate to the Pan-American Congress, and thank 
you for the same. I am sure that you will be interested to know 
that our attempt to infect a new building by means of con- 
taminated mosquitoes has met with complete success. The 
insects were released in this building during the afternoon of 
December 21. A few minutes thereafter I permitted a non- 
immune to enter and lie on a bed provided for the purpose. I, 
with other nonimmunes, stood in one end of the room, pro- 
tected, of course, by a wire screen partition. The subject 
remained 30 minutes and was bitten by several insects. He 
again entered at 4 p. m. and remained 15 minutes; and again 
the next afternoon (22d) remaining 15 minutes. During each 
of which times, he was bitten by one or more insects. Four 
days later (December 25). at 9 a. m., he felt badly and had 
fever 99.6. At noon, a slight chill with rising temperature. 
100.4 — backache, headache, suffused face and infected eyes — 
at 9 p. m.. temperature 104.2 — albumen on second evening. 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 225 

jaundice of eyes, etc. — typical symptoms of yellow fever, the 
diagnosis being confirmed by board of experts. His tempera- 
ture fell to normal yesterday, sixth day, and patient will make a 
good recovery. It is hardly necessary to add that the two non- 
immunes who have slept each night in the noninfected end of 
the same room, only protected by a wire screen partition, are 
still well and healthy. Nothing could possibly be more strik- 
ing than this observation. We shall make but few more experi- 
ments — one blood injection has given no result — we will make 
two others, if I can find the cases. I consider it now very 
important to find if possible the parasite in the body of the 
mosquito. We have preserved a number of insects of various 
ages for paraffin sectioning, when we return to Washington. I 
will, therefore, thank you very much if you will have the 
necessary order issued relieving us from duty at this post and 
authorizing our return to our proper station, so that we can 
start back immediately after the adjournment of the Pan- 
American Congress. I will request General Wood to retain 
the buildings at our camp site, so that, if necessary, we could 
resume our observations when the epidemic year begins again. 
Dr. Cooke's services at the Camp are now no longer needed. 
With greetings of the New Year, 

Walter Reed. 

P. S. : No results as yet in infected clothing building. Non- 
immunes sleeping every night in yellow fever beds. 

Jan. 13, 1901. 

Your letter of January 8, was received yesterday. I have 
made Carroll acquainted with the contents of your letter, and 
he wishes me to convey to you his sincere thanks for the honor 
which you propose to confer upon him. He will gladly remain 
in Cuba for a while, as you suggest. 

It occurs to me that the passage of the Army Bill will 
promptly promote Major Kean to a majority in the regular 
Corps, and leave a vacancy for Carroll's promotion. If, how- 
ever, the new Army Bill limits Surgeons of Volunteers to those 
who serve in the Philippines, Carroll would not care to go there. 
If it could be so arranged that he could return to Washington 
by April 1, I would be much gratified. I would suggest that the 
order for my own return and Steward Neate's be issued soon, 
that we could get our outfit on the transport ahead of us, and 
thus not be compelled to wait several weeks for important 
material. We could then leave immediately after the adjourn- 
ment of the Pan-American Congress. 

I feel certain that you will be much interested in the result 
from our blood injections. I think that I mentioned, in a 
letter, one case that had received a blood injection made on the 
first day of the disease. The result wa^ negative in this case. 



226 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

unless we regard slight headache and general muscular sore- 
ness, on the eighth and ninth days, as some manifestations of 
an attempt at infection. It is interesting to note that this same 
individual has since resisted the bite of mosquitoes that con- 
veyed a good typical case of yellow fever to another non- 
immune. I am inclined, therefore, in the light of other injec- 
tions, to look upon him as one having a natural immunity to 
the disease. 

Having succeeded in getting hold of two hospital corps men, 
who were willing to take blood injections, we first infected a 
Spaniard by the bite of mosquitoes. During his primary parox- 
ysms (first day) we injected 2 c.c. of blood from a vein at 
the elbow subcutaneously in one of our subjects. In just four 
days, lacking two hours, he developed an attack of yellow fever. 
From his vein, at the end of twelve hours (temperature 
103.4°), we took 1.5 c.c. of blood and injected subcutaneously 
into second subject, resulting in a pretty infection in two days, 
twelve hours. Much to my regret we had no one for another 
injection. The parasite is therefore in the general circulation, 
and yellow fever thus follows exactly the modes of convey- 
ance found in malarial fever. I have already saturated towds 
with blood of these cases and have put them in our infected 
clothing house. Probably nothing will come of this attempt to 
convey infection. We now have six successes out of seven 
attempted by means of mosquito bites (85.71 per cent.). 

McConncll is hero :\\ work- 
Jan. 27, 1901. 

As McConncll has coniplcicd his drawings here, I have con- 
cluded to let him go on transport Rawlins which leaves today 
instead of waiting for the next boat. He carries with him a 
copy of our additional note with charts. I hope that Dr. Gould 
this time will return proofs to you so that corrections can be 
made before final publication. The article would be in time, 
if it api)earcd about Februar>' 10-15. I trust that what I have 
written may meet with your approval. I hope to leave here 
on Ward Line steamer leaving Havana. Februan*- 9. Have no 
order yet for Neate's relief from this station, but trust that it 
will come soon as well as order relieving Private Andrus and 
assigning him to Anny Medical School laboratory. I will ask 
you to make a slight change in the wording of our eighth con- 
clusion, so that the word "contaminated" be inserted before the 
word mosquitoes — so that it will read as follows : "A house 
may be said to be infected with yellow fever only when there 
are present within its walls contaminated mosquitoes capable 
of conveying the parasite of this disease." I will. also, ask that 
you change the relative position of conclusions Xo. 9 and 10, 
so that No. 9 will come last. 



SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS 227 

Jan. 31, 1901. 

I cabled to you this afternoon, requesting that you delay 
publication of our additional note until you receive the copy 
which I shall mail in the morning. I have inserted a footnote 
of importance which I thought should accompany the note 
when published. Although our immune (mosquito made) 
cases, four in number, have shown no symptoms whatever, 
I am very uneasy about the nonimmune soldier who got the 
same quantity of blood (1 c.c.) at the same time. He seems 
to have acquired a very serious infection, his temperature run- 
ning along the 104° line now for three days. Albumen appeared 
at the end of eighteen hours, but is not excessive. Should he 
die, I shall regret that I ever undertook this work. The 
responsibility for the life of a human being weighs upon me 
very heavily just at present, and I am dreadfully melancholic. 
Everything is being done for him that we know how to do. 

This afternoon the Mexican delegates were here to see our 
cases and afterwards visited the experimental camp. They 
seemed to be wonderfully impressed with what they heard and 
saw. Please substitute the copy which I shall forward tomor- 
row for the copy McConnell brought. I will ask that McCon- 
nell change the period of incubation on chart No. 11 to five 
days, seventeen hours. Although the patient took to bed, com- 
plaining of headache, etc., at the end of four days, twenty 
hours, his febrile paroxysm did not begin till five days and 
seventeen hours. If you think that the disease begins with 
the advent of premonitory symptoms, you can let it stand as 
at present. I leave that to you entirely. I shall hope to leave 
on the McPhcrson about February 8. 
Sincerely yours, 

Walter Reed. 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
INSPECTION TOUR IN PHILIPPINE ISL.\NDS 

President McKinley desired to obtain full information in 
regard to civil, military and health conditions in the Philippine 
Islands. He therefore advised a personal inspection by trusted 
staff officers and Representatives of Congress of existing con- 
ditions on the Islands. The president was especially anxious 
about the health of the army of occupation and naturally pre- 
ferred that General Sternberg should represent the Medical 
Department on this inspection tour. 

One morning soon after this request from the President, 
General Sternberg was summoned to give medical advice in 
regard to Mrs. McKinley. After his professional visit the con- 
versation turned on the proposed journey to the Philippine 
Islands. The President asked if I was preparing to accompany 
my husband on the trip. General Sternberg replied he thought 
not ; that I was planning to spend the time of his absence with 
my mother. The President intimated that he desired to see 
me, and I appeared at the White House in response to the 
invitation. Cordially greeting me the President solicitously 
inquired if I was going to the Philippines with my husband. I 
told him of my plan to go to the home of my childhood. He 
looked at me with expressive eyes, and said, "Your husband is 
going on a long, lonely trip and he will need you for company. 
Won't you go?" All of which led to my determination to 
accompany General Sternberg on his insf)ection tour. 

Our journey to the Philippines lasted nearly four months. 
W'e sailed from San Francisco on the transport General Han- 
cock, June 23, 1901. Owing to orders received by the officers 
in charge of the General Hancock just before the transport 
sailed, our route was changed, and we made the quickest trip 
that had been recorded by any government transport up to that 
date. But much to our regret, we missed Honolulu. WTien 
we crossed the ISOth meridian, we naturally lost a day, and by 
peculiar coincidence this was July 4, not an inconsequential loss 
for patriotic Americans. Near the coast of Japan one of our 
lady passengers, who had pre\nously been to China and Japan. 



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 229 

became very nervous in regard to typhoons. She was in con- 
stant dread of such an encounter. In the gray dawn of a com- 
ing day, on looking from the port hole of her cabin, she saw 
a black funnel-shaped object looming on the horizon, present- 
ing to her excited imagination the exact appearance of the 
dreaded typhoon. It proved to be nothing more than two rock 
islands with high stony peaks, then used by Japan as a sta- 
tion for a penal colony. 

MANILA 

These islands are the first land seen from ships sailing to 
Manila by the northern route. We soon entered the China Sea, 
and later the monotony of the journey was broken by the view 
of the Island of Formosa ; next by the coast of Luzon, along 
which we sailed for more than twenty- four hours before reach- 
ing Manila. On entering Manila Bay we passed Corregidor 
Island, towering 600 feet above the level of the sea, and the 
site of a fine convalescent hospital. To our right lay the his- 
toric naval station of Cavite and the wrecks of several Spanish 
ships of war, which had been destroyed at the time of Admiral 
Dewey's victory. Manila is built on low land, and from the 
deck of the ship we could discern only the larger buildings, the 
churches and other prominent points. At this date there was 
no brealcwater in the harbor and the ship was obliged to anchor 
some miles from shore. The General Hancock was soon 
boarded by General Chaffee and his staff, who came to welcome 
the Adjutant-General and his staff, the Surgeon-General, the 
Commissary-General, and other general officers. A steam 
launch from the hospital ship Relief fortuitously came along- 
side, in command of Major Perley, Medical Corps. We had 
known him at home, and he offered the hospitality of his ship, 
assuring us we would be much more comfortable on board the 
Relief than at a hotel on shore. 

I visited every part of the beautiful, clean, white ship, and 
I did not wonder that medical officers of the foreign armies in 
Chinese waters had agreed that she was the finest and most 
completely equipped hospital ship then in existence. We 
remained on the Relief for a day or two. General Sternberg 
making the trip to Manila in the steam launch. On the morn- 
ing of the second day. General Sternberg went to make a call 



230 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

on his brother, Major Theodore Sternberg, in command of the 
Quartermaster's steamer Dix, at anchor not far away. A little 
later as I was looking over the bay, I noticed the launch coming 
hastily back to the Relief. General Sternberg told me the 
typhoon signal was being displayed, and we must go ashore. 
We were quickly on our way in the steam launch, but I thought 
we should be swamped before we reached the shore. 

Luzon is the most northern, as well as the largest and most 
important island in the Philippine group, on the southwest coast 
of which lies Manila, founded about 350 years ago (1571). 
Its architecture is not imposing, a factor not unrelated to the 
recurring earthquakes. The population of the city in 1901 was 
about 300,000; its shipping wharves were filled with hemp, 
sugar, tobacco, cigars, indigo, and coflFee. with a large quan- 
tity of cotton goods. 

About a week after our arrival wc sailed around the south- 
em islands on the transport Laivton. The bay was ver>' choppy 
on the morning of our departure, and the hospital tug Sew 
York, assigned to take us to the Latvton, could not hazard the 
trip. We were, therefore, taken down the Pasig River to the 
Quartermaster's wharf and transferred to a much larger craft. 
As soon as we were on the l>ay, the waves began to break over 
the bow of our boat and the deck was constantly awash. By 
the time we reached the transport, most of the passengers were 
quite saturated. But the real excitement came when wc 
attempted to board the Lanvton. Men were on the platform 
of the gangway to assist the ladies, encouraging them to jump 
at the opportune moment when our boat was on the crest of a 
wave and not too far away from helping hands. There were 
many days at certain seasons of the year when it was impos- 
sible to board a vessel at anchor in the bay. At present, there 
is an extensive and substantial break-water that protects ships 
at anchor and enables passengers to board with less fear and 
discomfort. 

ILOILO 

On leaving the bay we sailed in a southerly direction and 
were soon between the islands of Luzon and Mindora. During 
our whole trip we were never out of sight of land : on one of 



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 231 

the islands we could clearly make out the trees on the hill- 
sides and occasionally native villages and plantation houses. 
We hoped to see the volcano Taal in eruption, but in this we 
were disappointed. Our first stop was at Iloilo, on the island 
of Panay, the inhabitants of which are known as Visayans. 
They differ from their northern and southern neighbors in 
many respects, having made less progress in civilization and 
being less cheerful, more quiet and sullen than the Tagalos, the 
principal inhabitants of Luzon. The principal industry is 
weaving; the women generally make most beautiful fabrics. 
Almost every house contains one or more hand looms and such 
exquisite fabrics as pena and jusi are here woven. Pefia is 
made from fiber of a plant resembling the pine-apple leaf, and 
is of such delicate texture that the doors and windows are kept 
closed during the process of weaving, lest a light puff of wind 
break or entangle the delicate filaments. Jusi, made from raw 
silk, all the material for ordinary clothing, quantities of coarse 
sacking for the transportation of the sugar crop, and beautiful 
sleeping mats, so largely used by the natives in their homes, 
are among the textiles manufactured by the Visayans. The 
natives are also ver>' skilful in making bolos and other weapons 
of war, for which purpose they preserve all pieces of iron, 
from which they fashion good weapons and implements, 
tempering these by processes closely resembling those employed 
in more civilized countries. They have been forced to defend 
themselves for centuries against the attacks of their Mohamme- 
dan neighbors on the southern islands, and when well led 
they have always been able to make a good defense against 
Moro invaders. 

From Iloilo, we drove to Molo, the center of the sugar 
industry, and a place of much wealth. The main object of 
our visit was the church, which is quite famous in these parts 
for a beautiful hanging lamp, its pictures and frescoed ceil- 
ings. These are supposed to be of a high order of merit and 
were done by a Filipino youth — born in this vicinity. Talent 
for art is much more rare among the Filipinos than that for 
music. Nearly every town of any size has its brass band, and 
very many of the natives play remarkably well on the piano 
and on stringed instruments. 



232 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

CEBU AND MORO COUNTRY 

Next in rank of Philippine ports is Cebu, the capital city 
of the island of the same name. The city dates to 1570 (one 
year before the foundation of Manila), is the center of the 
hemp industry, and does a flourishing trade in hemp and sugar. 
I had seen hemp growing in earlier days, and I thought I 
should see familiar sights. Not so, however, for the hemp 
grown in the Philippines belongs to another family, a plant 
that closely resembles the banana. But the most attraaive of 
all the cities on our trip was Zamboango on the island of Min- 
danao. This, the second largest island in the Philippines, is 
inhabited principally by Moros, claimed by the Sultan of Jolo 
as his subjects, although his control is not ver>' well established. 
The surgeon in charge of the hospital came out to the ship in 
a launch and took General Sternberg and myself to his 
quarters on shore. The Surgeon-General was greatly pleased 
with the results of his inspection for he found things in a very 
satisfactory condition. The building occupied as the hospital 
was the surgeon's quarters during the occupation of Zam- 
boango by the Spanish troops, the old Spanish hospital being 
at the time of our visit occupied as barracks by our troops. 

We saw the carabao, the patient and much loved beast of 
burden of the Philippines, drawing the plows in the deep mud 
of the paddy fields, while in other sections men and women 
were busy planting rice. There were large groves of coconut 
palms nearby, and in many of the gardens huge pfles of the 
green nuts were lying. These are broken open and the dried 
meat constitutes the copra of commerce, one of the principal 
products of the tropical islands. The natives live in huts built 
on high supjx)rts of a framework of bamboo, thatched with 
leaves of the nipa palm. The floors are from ten to twelve feet 
above ground, and quite open to encourage free circulation of 
air. Housekeeping is reduced to its simplest forms and the 
complete culinary equipment of a Filipina consists of a few 
earthen pots, and one or two iron vessels. The dress worn by 
the Moros is quite distinct from that of the Visayans and 
Tagalos. The men wear closely fitting calico trousers, with gay, 
gaudy sashes about their waists. Picturesque ornaments adorn 
their hair, which is covered by a turban. Many of them file 
their teeth, and nearlv all chew the betel, a habit which in time 



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 233 

stains the teeth a deep black. Some students were playing ball 
in the public square ; they wore silk trousers with bright silk 
scarfs about the waist. The ball was made of thin strips of 
bamboo, shaped much like our base ball and evidently very 
elastic. 

J OLD 

We sailed for the mouth of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, 
and continued up the river to Cotta-Batto in a steam launch, 
with two life boats in tow, returning the same evening. On the 
following morning our steamer carried us where few Ameri- 
can women had been before: to the harbor of Jolo, on the 
island of Sulu, where the sultan was at the time carrying on 
a war against two of his datos. We were taken to the home 
of the first secretary to the Sultan, an old man whose appear- 
ance was not at all prepossessing. His numerous wives were 
congregated in one large room, some of them displaying 
embroideries and native work for sale. It was announced that 
the sultan wished to pay his respects to General Corbin and 
the other officers accompanying him. The sultan's retinue was 
so large that a number were unable to get into the conference 
room, and they remained standing at the door and on the 
stairway. They were a picturesque looking lot. The sultan 
himself was a small man, apparently not more than 40 years 
of age, with a bright face and a keen eye. He did not speak 
any language but his own, but brought with him an interpreter. 
The sultan apologized for his personal appearance, saying he 
was in his field costume when he heard of the arrival of the 
American officers, and he had not taken time to change his 
dress. His costume consisted of the tightly fitting calico 
trousers and the bright sash common in the Moro country. 

BAGUIO, BENGUET 

On our return to Manila, General Sternberg made final 
arrangements for his trip to Baguio, Benguet. Reports had 
reached Washington of the desirability of establishing in that 
locality a health resort for officers and soldiers suflFering from 
the eflfects of the tropical climate. The subject having been 
brought to the attention of the Secretary of War, Hon. Elihu 
Root, and a full report of the exact conditions on this moun- 
tain being desired, General Sternberg was instructed to make 
a personal investigation. At that date this trip was known to 



234 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

be very difficult and fatiguing, including a long journey by 
horse over a rough mountainous countrj-, through valleys with 
difficult sandy roads closely shut in by a growth of bamboo 
and other tropical plants. The first lap of the journey was 
made on the Dagupan Railroad. An accident on this road 
made quite an impression on General Sternberg ; a carabao was 
killed by the engine of the train. Very soon, the family owning 
the beast came running to the scene and gathered around the 
animal, the women shedding tears while the little children 
patted and kissed the unfortunate carabao. From the appear- 
ance and demeanor of the family General Sternberg thought 
they must be losing their entire support. He therefore started 
a subscription to purchase another animal, and the sum con- 
tributed covered more than the price of a fine young specimen. 
On his arrival at Benguei, General Sternberg was favorably 
impressed with the natural conditions. The site was on an 
elevation of about 5000 feet, studded with pine and oak trees 
and covered with short grass and tropical foliage. But it was 
extremely inaccessible, and he saw no way of occupying this 
otherwise desirable six)t without building a good wagon road 
or a railroad to carry supplies. This could be done only at 
enormous expense, as conditions were not favorable. Despite 
all this, he constantly extolled the desirability of the site as a 
military reservation, and I have no doubt that his official 
reports did much to influence the building of the famous road 
to Benguet, which made possible the establishment of a health 
resort and convalescent home for those whom duty required 
to live in the Philippine Islands. 

JAPANESE PORTS 

On our return voyage we touched the excellent ports of 
Japan. Our ship entered the harbor of Nagasaki for coal. 
Only those who have gone into this port can realize what 
nature and man have done in making this picturesque spot of 
green cliflfs surrounding a spread of deep clear water into one 
of the most beautiful harbors. Many tons of coal were put on 
board by the little Japanese women, who nimbly scaled a 
ladder with the coal in a basket on their backs, supported by 
a leather strap passing around the brow. In spite of their 
onerous task they seemed interested and contented and were 
ver>' industrious and quick at work. I had never seen such 



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 235 

service being performed by women, except at Barbadoes, 
where ships are coaled by native colored women. On our trip 
out of the beautiful harbor into the Inland Sea, we passed hill- 
side gardens, terrace on terrace as far as the eye could see — 
an original example of intensive cultivation and a monument 
to the industr}^ of the Japanese peasant. Kobe, our next port, 
has at present the larger part, if not the greatest value, of 
Japan's oversea trade, being second only to Yokohama, and 
many Englishmen and some Americans are here engaged in 
business. Our time was so limited that we hastened on to 
Tokyo, the capital of the Empire, where our party arrived 
after dark. The ladies of the party were placed in jinrikishas, 
while the men went in search of our light baggage. The streets 
were unusually dark, even for Tokyo, which at that time was 
not well lighted. Some one gave the word go, and the train 
of jinrikishas started, I alone in the front one. The man could 
not understand my directions to stop, but went at a good pace 
through a part of the big city where the streets were narrow 
and quite dark — not at all inviting. I could not see who was 
following me, and growing very nervous, I shouted for my 
husband, who soon appeared. The procession halted, and one 
of the officers was placed in the lead. It transpired that 
because of the lateness of the hour my "riksha" man was in 
haste to get to the hotel. He knew where he was going but I 
did not. Everybody thought the incident a good joke, and 
seemed to enjoy laughing at me. In short side trips we visited 
Yokohama, in many respects the most thriving and up-to-date 
port of Japan, and Nikko, scene of the most beautiful temple 
to be found anywhere in the Japanese Empire, erected to sig- 
nalize the last resting place of the Shogpans, founders of the 
Tokugawa dynasty. 

One evening, as we were sitting in the reading room at the 
hotel, we were surprised by quite an earthquake shock. Every- 
one seemed frightened and ran for the doors in order to escape 
into the open for fear it would be repeated, but no further 
quake came. However, a greater shock awaited us. 

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MC KINLEY 

Returned to our steamer at Kobe, a boat came alongside one 
day and from a messenger who had come out to meet a tea 



236 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

merchant we learned that President McKinley had been shot 
at Buffalo, September 9, and that he was still living and making 
a brave struggle for life. I was at first skeptical of the accu- 
racy of the report, but after I had received assurance that the 
press dispatch was reliable I was much distressed, for I knew 
it would be a great blow for General Sternberg. I broke the 
news to him as gently as I could, still hoping that it could not 
be true. More discouraging news came before we left Kobe, 
and as we walked the deck in the moonlight and gazed at the 
scenery without interest, my husband confided to me that if the 
report be true, there was little or no hope. The steamer sailed 
smoothly along through the Inland Sea, and we sat quietly 
on the deck, gazing now without interest on the scenes which 
were unfolded, for our thoughts were centered on the great 
misfortune that had befallen our nation. At Naga5;aki. the 
news of the President's condition was not at all encouraging. 
We reached San Francisco a little before the scheduled time, 
and the pilot and newspaper men brought us the sad news that 
President McKinley had passed away, September 14, nearly 
a fortnight since. An irreparable loss to the nation and to us 
personally. 

Mr. McKinley was the most widely loved man in our coun- 
try at the time, and his death was deeply deplored. It has been 
said, and I think with justice, that there are "three chapters 
in American history, which stand out above all others. They 
are those that relate to Washington, to Lincoln and to 
McKinley. Washington created the nation. Lincoln preserved 
it, McKinley made it a leading world power." 

We hastily made arrangements for crossing the continent 
and were glad to count the miles we were leaving behind us 
on our journey to Washington. We had scarcely arrived when 
General Sternberg received a message from Mrs. McKinley to 
visit her in her old home in Canton, Ohio. This he did as 
soon as possible, expecting to find her utterly prostrated by the 
great shock and her deep grief. She welcomed him cordially 
and although his presence must have caused her pangs of 
sorrow and brought thoughts of happier days, she spoke of 
much that had taken place since General Sternberg had been 
out of the country, and asked him to go with her at a fixed 
hour to visit the resting place of Mr. McKinley. 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
RETIREMENT FROM THE ARMY 

From May, 1893, until his retirement, June 8, 1902, the years 
were full of intensive work for General Sternberg. In addition 
to his official duties, he filled many positions of honor and trust 
and delivered numerous addresses on subjects on which he was 
well informed. Many of the illustrations which he used in his 
lectures were the work of his own hand, photomicrographs 
made in the years of his research on the organisms of infec- 
tious and preventable diseases. His address as the president 
of the Philosophical Society of Washington, delivered under 
the auspices of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Dec. 
8, 1900, treated of the subject of malaria in a broad general 
way and introduced experimental evidence in support of the 
theory that the mosquito serves as the intermediate host for the 
parasite. This was published in the Smithsonian Institution 
report for 1900. Another notable address was that on preven- 
tive medicine, delivered at the opening of the postgraduate 
medical school of George Washington University. 

Dr. Sternberg anticipated his retirement for age with mixed 
feelings of joy and sorrow. He was devoted to the welfare 
of the Army, proud of the progress made- by members of his 
corps in scientific and practical work and he deeply regretted 
a severance of official relations. On the other hand, after a 
period of forty-one years in the service of his country, he 
naturally longed for rest, or at least for freedom from restraint. 
A man of his mental and physical activities could not remain 
idle very long, but there is a great difference between purely 
voluntary work and work done as a matter of duty or neces- 
sity. Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of War, in recognition of 
his services, had recommended that he be retired with the rank 
of Major-General, a recommendation which met with the 
approval of the medical profession, as shown by the editorial 
comment of the leading professional periodical.^ 



1. Surgeon-General Sternberg, editorial, J. A. M. A. 38: 1011 (April 
19) 1902. 



238 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

The Secretary of War has transmitted to Congress a recom- 
mendation that Surgeon-General Sternberg, when his active 
service is legally terminated next June, be retired with the 
rank of Major-General. This is endorsed by General Corbin, 
Adjutant-General of the Army, and with it is communicated 
a biographical sketch of Dr. Sternberg with a list of his 
leading contributions to medicine up to 1893. This naturally 
does not include some of Dr. Sternberg's best work, but it 
makes a showing that ought to convince congressmen that in 
thus advancing him a grade they are honoring one who has 
been an honor to his country as well as a faithful public 
servant for forty-one years, much of the time in arduous and 
perilous service in the field and on the frontier. 

Indeed, we can say, without disi cnt of any of his 

{predecessors, that as a scientific m< an he has exalted 

the office of Surgeon-General of the United States Army and 
that at the present time we are not aware that such a position 
is anywhere held by any one of superior or even equal scien- 
tific reputation as an original investigator and authority. If, 
as General Corbin says, the Surgeon-Cicneral of the Navy was 
entitled by law to be retired with a rank etjuivalent to that of 
Major-General, by what rule of justice cannot the like officer 
of the Army, with a wider range of work and greater responsi- 
bilities, be retired with the same rank and emoluments? 
Dr. Sternberg's record is well known to the members of the 
medical profession, which has shown its appreciation by his 
election to many honorable positions and honorary' member- 
ships both here and abroad. The ' - of Congress can 
be assured that by the legislation • I they only carry 
out the wishes of the class of their constituents both in and 
out of the medical profession who can best judge of the 
propriety and need of such action. It is to be hoped that the 
recommendation will be promptly followed and the act made 
effective before the time of Surgeon-General Sternberg's 
retirement. 

The United States Senate promptly passed the bill, and it 
was also favorably reported by the military committee of the 
House of Representatives. When called up under suspension 
of the rules, June 2. 1902. the bill was opposed from the floor 
of the House on the ground that it would afford a precedent 
for similar legislation in other cases, and it failed to receive 
the necessary two thirds vote. Wliile the affair was a bitter 
disappointment to General Sternberg, he had the comfort of 
knowing that he enjoyed the respect and esteem of the medical 
profession, and this approval was of more value to him than 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 239 

military honors or a financial competency. Among the great- 
est joys of his life were the commendations in editorial com- 
ments, such as the one quoted in the foregoing, and a letter 
from Dr. Biggs of New York requesting him to name a 
convenient date to attend a dinner to be given in his honor. 

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER 

Dear Doctor: New York, May 17, 1902. 

We feel that the retirement of Dr. Sternberg from the Army 
should not be allowed to pass without an expression on the 
part of his many friends of their appreciation of his long and 
faithful services to the country and to our profession. Enter- 
ing the Army in 1861, Dr. Sternberg served through the Civil 
War, and rose by successive grades until in 1893 he became 
Surgeon-General, an appointment which recognized the merits 
of his special services to the corps. In this office he has 
borne great responsibilities and has improved in many ways 
the organization of the medical corps, notably by the estab- 
lishment of the Army medical school. 

In the work of the profession at large he has been deeply 
interested. Not only have his contributions to the science 
of bacteriology been important and numerous, but in this 
country he has, by strong personal efforts and by active work 
in our societies, stimulated the scientific study of medicine 
and fostered and encouraged those researches which in the 
case of malaria, yellow fever and other infectious diseases 
have proved to be of such enormous value. 

During a long series of years Dr. Sternberg has been a 
warm advocate of all measures to promote the public health, 
and has unselfishly devoted much time to the work of national 
and local health societies and to the establishment of efficient 
legislation. His contributions to our knowledge of disin- 
fectants are of special importance. 

In recognition of his long-continued, varied, and impor- 
tant scientific and professional labors and of his high personal 
character the undersigned committee has tendered Dr. Stern- 
berg a dinner, which will be held at New York, on June 13, 
and to which you are invited to subscribe. (Signed) 

Henry D. Holton, Frank Billings, Simon Flexner, A. C. 
Abbott, James Tyson, J. C. Wilson, W. H. Welch, G. M. 
Kober, S. B. Ward, F. C. Shattuck, Maurice Richardson, 
Harold C. Ernst, Victor C. Vaughan, Surgeon-General 
Rixey, H. M. Hurd, Roswell Park, Lewis S. Pilcher, John 
A. Wyeth, Abraham Jacobi, Edward G. Janeway, Hermann 
M. Biggs, Surgeon-General Wyman, Charles G. Stockton, 
Lewis A. Stimson. Committee. 



240 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

The following report of the dinner is from the Medical 
News, June 21, 1902. 

It was a highly representative body that gathered last Friday 
evening at Delmonico's in New York to do honor and to pay 
homage to the retired Surgeon-General of the Army, George 
M. Sternberg. 

Dr. E. G. Janeway in his introductory remarks first read a 
telegram received from Maj. Gen. H. C. Corbin, U. S. A., in 
which he offered congratulations to Dr. Sternberg and his 
sense of appreciation of duty well done. 

Further, in speaking of Dr. Sternberg and of his long life 
and many years of activity, Dr. Janeway remarked that on 
being retired at the age of 64 it could well be said that Dr. 
Sternberg did not retire on any grounds of insufficiency; he 
was not responsible for his date of birth and it was by an act 
of Congress only that he was forced to give up this particular 
line of activity. He expressed the hoj:)c, however, for this 
illustrious student of bacteriology, fellow of the American 
Association of Hygienists, commissioner on the study of yellow 
fever, author and worker, that many years would be left him 
in which he could carry on his work. Dr. Janeway said it was 
a matter of pride for the American physicians to point out the 
long list of achievements and attainments of their illustrious 
guest, which besjx)ke such a high mental endowment and was 
an evidence of work well done. 

Dr. Alexander H. Smith, in response to the toast, the 
United States Army, said that he had watched the career of 
General Sternberg and had shared in his honors, and through- 
out the Spanish-American War had felt great pride in his 
achievements. He had seen that the Medical Deixirimeni was 
not second best, but first best, notwithstanding all the draw- 
backs, the results were more satisfactory- and the criticism less 
than in any other department of the ser\ice, and Dr. Sternberg 
then and there demonstrated that a medical man might have 
executive ability outside his own lines. 

Colonel Lippincott of the U. S. Medical Corps said in 
part as follows: "The Army and his own corps gravitate 
toward General StenilxTg; their respect and love reach out 
in his direction. The work that Dr. Steniberg had done, find- 
ing ten years ago the miserable old stuff left from the Q\\\\ 
War, in remodeling and reconstructing the corps so thoroughly 
and fundamentally was a matter to be proud of, and one is 
proud to have such a medical man in the Army ; one honors the 
man who made it possible and owes him a debt of gratitiide." 

Dr. William Osler of Johns Ho- - >1. 

speaking of the work of the Army in Cr. ;»y 

expression, "Peace hath her victories no less renowned than 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 241 

war." The Spanish War, he said, afforded an illustration not 
of prize-fighting, but of a great big giant pommeling a puny 
citizen affected with general paresis or Parkinson's disease; 
it was not a fight, he said, but a walkover. But there was 
another thing, another foe, worthy of the best of America's 
steel, and no chapter in the history of medicine will be able to 
stir the blood of the American profession as that which will 
tell of the battle with that foe, yellow fever. 

He said it was a noble tale from the earliest history when 
Mathew Carey of Philadelphia, in 1793, first took up the work. 
Throughout the early history of medicine one reads the work 
of Rush and of Carey and the hosts of others who fought that 
foe. It has always been the same story in the Gulf States, the 
soul-stirring history of the men who laid down their lives in 
the struggle with this mighty adversary. Here was the foe 
that General Sternberg had fought and had vanquished; his 
name would go down to posterity with the honor of a battle 
long fought and valorously won. The victor)-, Dr. Osier said, 
was accomplished in a way that reflected great credit on the 
Army and on the medical profession. The work of Reed and 
Carroll was a piece of work well planned and well carried out, 
a demonstration to the entire world. 

That, however, is not all of the story. Tuberculosis, typhoid 
fever, these are with us still. Never has there been an instance 
in the history of medicine when with such rapidity an organiza- 
tion had been able to wijx? out a scourge. That work had been 
carried on by Dr. Leonard Wood and Dr. William C. Gorgas. 

Dr. W. C. Gorc..\s [lately Surgeon-General, U. S. Army] 
said that had their work not been so successful as good fortune 
had made it. General Sternberg would have received the entire 
blame, the success was his also. When Havana was occupied 
in 1899, he became health officer in the spring with no very 
clear idea of what to do, and at first he had devoted his atten- 
tion to the organization and development of a sanitary depart- 
ment; work was started in on all lines, good as well as bad, 
bad as well as good. There was little yellow fever in the 
spring of that year, but in the fall and winter there was a 
great deal. In 1900, though the general sanitary condition had 
immensely improved, the yellow fever was still present and 
the epidemic was of a severe character. There were over 
1,400 cases and 300 deaths, and he felt discouraged at the little 
progress made. In 1900 Dr. Reed, chief of the bureau, first 
directed work along the lines of the theory of the mosquito 
infection and he proved, as history now so well knows, that 
the mosquito can be infected only during the first three days 
of the disease, and that there is a period of from twelve to 
twenty-five days when the bite of the stegomyia can convey 
the disease. 



242 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

About this time the Sanitary Department was organized 
and turned its attention to study the local conditions and their 
relation to the spread and development of the mosquito. The 
rain barrels, the family cisterns, all breeding Stegomyia, the 
Chinese gardens from which came Anopheles, all these were 
studied in much detail and a force of 150 men was put to work. 
There were but few cases of yellow fever at the time and the 
mosquitoes of the neighborhood were killed by fumigation, 
pyrethrum powder proving a very efficient mosquitocide. In 
January of 1901 the city was free from yellow fever; in July 
the suburbs received a certain amount of reinfection, but on 
Sept. 2^, 1901, the last case of yellow fever occurred. Since 
that time the land has been practically free, since Havana has 
been the center of infection. The success had been due to the 
study of the mode of propagation, which discovery had been 
made possible by the enthusiastic cooperation of General Stern- 
berg. 

Dk. William H. Welch of Johns Hopkins Medical School 
spoke of that side of the work of Dr. Sternberg which was 
most familiar to him, namely, his work in bacteriology. Dr. 
Sternberg, he said, was the pioneer worker in bacteriology in 
this country ; he had iK'en compelled to acquire the technic from 
reading and the entire world knew how he had perfected a 
technic ccjual to that of the l)est. Dr. Sternberg had made 
many important discoveries; his work on disinfection and 
disinfectants would stand as a monument alone. As the first 
worker to isolate the micro-organi.sm of pneumonia he had 
gained renown, and his work with yellow fever would stand 
forever. 

1 Ic said that it was a common thing in these busy days to 
forget the steps which led up to any important discover)'. All 
that Dr. Sternberg had done in the study of yellow fever was 
necessary work and it had to be done in just the way that he 
did it. The ground had first to be cleared; if it were not so 
the discovery had not been possible, and later discoverers 
themselves would have had to hunt out the large number of 
micro-organisms which Dr. Sternberg had described and laid 
aside. 

His careful work had practically resulted in the view that 
a bacteriological origin for this disease could not be claimed, 
and it was on a priori grounds that he himself had felt that 
Sanarelli's bacillus was not the cause of yellow fever. Dr. 
Steniberg's studies of others* discoveries were most careful 
and most critical; it was not wasted endeavor. The problem 
still remains, however, what the cause of yellow fever is, 
although the method of eradication has been demonstrated in 
a most complete and authoritative way. 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 243 

Dr. Welch expressed the wish that Dr. Sternberg would 
come back to his old love, and to his test tubes, and he wel- 
comed him to many years of fruitful work in a field that had 
always claimed him as peculiarly its own and one in which 
honor and renown had been won at home and abroad. 

General Sternberg responded as follows : 

Gentlemen: Words fail me in which to express my high 
appreciation of the compliment you have paid me by making 
me your guest of honor upon this occasion. Such a compliment 
coming to me from the leading members of the medical pro- 
fession at a time when by the operation of law I have reached 
the end of my active service as a medical officer of the Army, 
is especially gratifying. Accepting this testimonial as evidence 
of your approval of my efforts for the promotion of medical 
science and of the interests of the Medical Corps of the Army, 
I thank you one and all most sincerely. At the same time I 
feel that the results accomplished have fallen much below my 
earnest desires and perhaps have not been commensurate with 
the opportunities I have had. 

My first feeble efforts in the field of investigation which has 
always presented the greatest attraction for me — the etiology 
and prevention of infectious diseases — were made at a time 
when no one in this country was prepared to give me instruc- 
tion in methods of research and I was to a large extent thrown 
on my own resources. The tubercle bacillus, the typhoid 
bacillus and many other well-known pathogenic micro-organ- 
isms had not yet been discovered and a most promising field 
of investigation was presented to my view, for I was strong 
in the belief that infectious diseases must be due to infectious 
agents capable of self-multiplication, i. e., to living disease 
germs. It so happened that the principal problem which I was 
called on to solve was one of the most difficult that has 
engaged the attention of investigators, and one in which bac- 
teriological methods have proved to be of no avail except in 
establishing a negative proposition, i. e., that yellow fever is 
not due to a micro-organism of this class. The time and per- 
sistent work devoted by me to an investigation of the etiology 
of this disease might have given more fruitful results if my 
attention had been turned in some other direction, but while I 
met with a serious disappointment in my failure to discover 
the yellow fever germ, I have the satisfaction of knowing that 
my researches cleared the way for the subsequent demonstration 
by Reed and his associates, of the method by which this disease 
is transmitted from man to man. From a practical point of 
view this is all we require to guide us to successful measures 
of prophylaxis, as has been recently demonstrated in the Island 
of Cuba. 



244 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

But I must not occupy your time by further reference to 
this portion of my life work. For nine years I have scarcely 
looked through a microscope, my time having been fully occu- 
pied by the imix)rtant duties entrusted to my charge as Sur- 
geon-General of the Army. While I have not been able 
personally to prosecute any research having in view the 
advancement of medical science, it has been a source of great 
satisfaction to me that I have been able to provide the means 
and appliances for other medical officers of the army to do 
so. When I commenced my research work I had to provide 
my own microscof)e and material of all kinds. There not 
only was no bacteriological laboratory or apparatus at any 
military j)Ost, but so far as I am informed none at any medi- 
cal school or university in the country. At present we have 
a thoroughly equipped lalxjrator)- in connection with our 
Army Medical School in the city of Washington, at all of our 
general hospitals in this country and in the Philippines, and 
also at every military post of any importance throughout the 
United States. Wc also have a considerable number of medi- 
cal officers who have been instructed at the Army Medical 
School, which I established in 1S93, who are well prepared 
to take advantage of their opportunities for research work. 

The Medical Corps of the Army is today in a high state 
of efficiency and I am proud to have been the Chief of this 
corps d'clitc during a period when its efficiency and useful- 
ness has been put to so severe a test. The profession, also, 
has reason to be proud of its members who are attached to 
the military service of the country. Our senior surgeons have 
been called upon to fill positions of great trust and responsi- 
bility during the past four years and have, as a rule, acquitted 
themselves with great credit. As Chief Surgeons in the 
Philippines, in Cuba and in Porto Rico, they have been to a 
large extent res|K)nsible for the administration of the affairs 
of the Medical I>ej>artment, and have been called upon not only 
to protect our troops from the ravages of infectious diseases 
but to |)erfonn a similar service for the natives of the various 
islands in which American soldiers have been called upon to 
sene. In all of these islands we found smallpox to be widely 
prevalent and in all it has been practically stamped out. In 
Cuba yellow fever was a scourge which threatened to do us 
greater injury than the bullets of our foes. But * 'to Re«d 
and his colleagues on the board sent to study i ise. we 

now know how to prevent its extension and have practically 
stamjxvl it out in tlie city of Havana, which has for niany years 
been its princi|>al endemic focus in the West Indies. In the 
Philippines bubonic plague has been kept in check by the 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 245 

strenuous exertions of our medical officers and the latest 
reports indicate that it has almost disappeared from the city of 
Manila. Unfortunately Asiatic cholera has recently gained a 
foothold in Manila and the neighboring provinces. Colonel 
Maus, who is at present acting as Commissioner of Public 
Health, is fighting this scourge with every means known to 
science and hopes to be able to avert a serious epidemic. 

Time will not permit me to dwell further upon the achieve- 
ments of our medical officers during and since the Spanish- 
American war, but I make bold to say that as sanitarians, as 
surgeons, as all-round practitioners of medicine, and as scien- 
tific investigators, we have in our ranks many medical officers 
who are an honor to the Corps and to the profession. 

I also point with pride to our general and post hospitals. 
The general hospitals at the Presidio, at Fort Bayard, at Wash- 
ington Barracks, and at the Hot Springs, Ark., are models 
which bear comparison with the best civil or military hospitals 
in any part of the world. In this country nearly every military 
post of any importance has a modem hospital well adapted to 
the requirements of the military service, provided with a well- 
equipped laboratory for clinical and research work, and an 
operating room which would be regarded with satisfaction by 
any surgeon accustomed to the precautions necessary for suc- 
cessful aseptic surgery. 

When I graduated in medicine in the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons in this city my ambition did not extend beyond 
the hope of securing a living practice in the country. My first 
venture was at a little town on Long Island, where a vacancy 
was supposed to exist owing to the recent death of an old and 
highly respected physician. Apparently I was not able to fill 
this vacancy for my professional shingle was displayed for 
several months and I did not receive a single professional call. 
Not being appreciated in this conservative neighborhood I 
moved my base of operations to Elizabeth City, New Jersey, and 
was getting a little practice when the war tocsin sounded and 
my future career was determined by the favorable verdict of 
an army medical examining board as to my qualifications for 
duty as an army surgeon. Within three months I was engaged 
in infecting gun-shot wounds with dirty fingers and unsterilized 
cold water dressings, and in amputating the legs and arms of 
unfortunate soldiers who had sustained gun-shot fractures in 
the disastrous battle of the first "Bull Run." We were all 
blissfully ignorant of pathogenic micrococci and bacilli in those 
days, but having had Willard Parker as my professor of 
surgery, and Dr. Sands as demonstrator of anatomy, I was 
not entirely unprepared for the responsibilities of the battle- 
field. 



246 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

It would perhai>s have been more profitable if I occupied 
the time at my disposal upon this memorable occasion in speak- 
ing in some detail of the advancement of medicine and surgery 
since my student days ; but most of you are better qualified to 
discuss this interesting topic than I am, and I am sure you 
will pardon me if my remarks have been more or less personal 
and reminiscent in character. I find it hard to realize that the 
country youth of my name who came to this city as a student 
of medicine in 1858 is here today as the honored guest of 
leading members of the medical profession in the United 
States, whose names are as household words wherever students 
of scientific medicine are assembled. 

I thank you, gentlemen, again and most sincerely for this 
kind testimonial of your esteem. Your endorsement of my 
life work is of more value to me than military honors or 
financial competency. I have at times felt discouraged and 
disposed to think that I have fallen far short of what might 
reasonably have been exjjected in view of my opportunities. 
But it is reserved for the very few to accomplish great things 
and the physician who has won the esteem of those of his 
profession who are l)cst qualified to judge of his work may 
well be satisfied although he realizes that he has had but a 
small share in promoting the advancement of scieir li- 

cine and the interests of our beloved and humane \ n. 

CO M M ENDATORY LETTERS 

In the following communication from a member of General 
Sternberg's official family his chief attainments as Surgeon- 
General are summarized : 

Dear Mrs. Sternberg: 

I am greatly pleased to learn that you are preparing a biog- 
raphy of General Sternberg, and venture to take this oppor- 
tunity of writing you the jwint of view of a medical officer 
regarding General Sternberg's high motives and attainments. 

As you know, General Sternberg just at the close of the 
Spanish-American War ordered me to the command of the 
Army C^Mieral Hospital at Washington Barracks, Washington, 
D. C, and thereafter, until the General's retirement in 1902, I 
was practically a member of his oflicial family, for as com- 
mandant of a general hospital I reported directly to the 
Surgeon-General, having no other superior officer. 

When the Anny Medical School was reopened in 1900, he 
had nie api">ointed professor of militarj- surgerx* in that institu- 
tion, and as result of holding the hospital and school posi- 
tions 1 was brought very intimately in contact with the General, 
few days |x\ssing in which I did not see him for direction, 
advice or adjustment of some one of the many matters arising 
]xirtio\il:nK frotn \\\c co\u\nc\ of the hospital. 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 247 

Of General Sternberg's pioneer work in bacteriolog}' and of 
his professional attainments, others are better qualified by 
direct observation to speak, but the result of his profound 
comprehension of the professional need of the Medical Corps 
was felt by me and others of the corp3 long before I served 
directly under him. Prior to his appointment to the Surgeon- 
Generalcy, through lack of foresight and failure to appreciate 
the crying need of allowing members of the corps the means 
of professional advancement and stimulating them to individual 
endeavor, the corps was undergoing a process of internal dry 
rot and official discouragement. With this General Sternberg 
was himself familiar, having had to pursue his researches and 
having reached his eminence in science by working under those 
discouraging conditions, not only without support from those 
in authority, but indeed often under press of indifference if 
not of active or passive opposition. 

But General Sternberg had such high appreciation of the 
mission of medicine as a science, that when called to the 
Surgeon-Generalcy he swept away all existing reactionary 
methods and inaugurated a new era in the history of the 
Medical Corps. The young men of the corps of which I was 
then one. at once felt the change. 

Recent medical publications and periodicals, laboratory appa- 
ratus and operating room appliances were furnished and 
members of the corps were encouraged and expected to keep 
up with the advance of medicine and surgery. General Stern- 
berg was the first Surgeon-General who fully appreciated the 
professional as well as the official aspects of his office. He 
raised the corps from medical obscurity to a definite and 
creditable place. He did this not only by installing many basic 
improvements but by encouraging instead of repressing indi- 
vidual effort. No better example of this is afforded than the 
career of Walter Reed. To Reed he first gave the opportunity 
to study bacteriolog>', then a professorship of that subject in 
the Army Medical School, and finally occasion to make the 
great discovery of the way of transmission of yellow fever, by 
appointing him to head the Yellow Fever Commission which, 
following the road cleared by the bacteriologic work of General 
Sternberg, led to Reed's great discovery. 

Instead of turning over attending surgeoncies in cities to 
personal or political favorites. General Sternberg gave these 
services with their opportunities for study in turn to the 
medical officers who showed themselves professionally capable 
of utilizing them. By the establishment of the Army Medical 
School, he founded an institution of incalculable value to the 
educational and research advancement of the Medical Corps. 

Prior to his time general hospitals in the Army had been 
held for war purposes only, and with the coming of peace were 



248 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

discontinued. General Sternberg saw the great possibilities 
of these hospitals, where with complete plants, fully equipped 
with modem appliances for diagnosis and treatment and 
manned with specialists, cases difficult of diagnosis and requir- 
ing special treatment could have all the resources of modem 
diagnosis and therapy. With this in view he established the 
hospital for tuberculosis at Fort Bayard, continued after the 
war with Spain was over, as also the general hospital at San 
Francisco, Calif., and the general hospital in Washington. 

He saw the great jKissibilities of a general hospital in the 
National Capital, where there would always be a large clientele 
for treatment, where a general hospital would always be 
needed in case of future war, and where it could be used for 
clinical and research purjxises in connection with the Array 
Medical School. It was in line with this that, as commandant 
of the hospital, I was put in charge of military surgery at the 
school, so that the didactic and theoretical work of military 
surgery could be supplemented by practical clinical and oper- 
ative work at the hospital. 

Many officials not as farsighted as General Sternberg 
desired and attempted to have the general hospital discon- 
tinued, arguing that with the end of the war the need was 
past, and they were entirely unappreciative of the even greater 
need for continuance in peace, a need which has been so well 
proved by the development of the old ho>pital into the Walter 
Reed General Hospital which has l>cen of such great use in the 
great war, and in connection with which the new Army Medical 
School buildings are to be erected. In my position tinder 
Genenil Stcrnl)erg. when submitting matters relative to the 
development and conduct of the hospital, its connection with 
the medical school and its usefulness to the militar>- service 
in general, I found him always actuated by the highest and 
most comprehensive ideals. For this reason he was able to 
unite all those policies which have been basic in the develop- 
ment of the Medical Dej>artment of the Army. He was mri 
an opportunist, but a clear sighted, deep thinking scicntisl. 
His policy once decided on, he pursued his course unfalter- 
ingly. Equally unfaltering was his support of his subordinates 
in all matters in which support was warranted. I came tc 
know through many personal experiences arising from the 
conduct of the general hospital, that General Sternberg could 
always be counted on unflinchingly to support his subordinates 
in all matters which concerned the dignity and the official 
status of the Medical Corps, which made the corps or its indi- 
vidual members more efficient, which advanced the general 
good of the service or advanced medical science. 



RETIREMENT FROM ARMY 249 

General Sternberg was the pioneer in professional advance- 
ment in the Medical Corps of the Army. It will be fortunate, 
indeed, should he have successors as kindly, as capable and 
with as great a grasp of the high mission of medical science. 

William Cline Borden, 
Lieutenant-Colonel, U. S. Army (Retired). 

The following letter from the Secretary of War was 
addressed to General Sternberg on the occasion of his retire- 
ment from active duty in the Army. 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

Washington 

December 15, 1903. 
My Dear General Sternberg: 

I thank you very much for your photograph. I have asked 
Mr. Chance to get your signature upon it. It will represent 
for me a very delightful association with an officer whose 
scientific attainments and devotion to the public service entitle 
him to grateful recognition. I shall always be proud of the 
achievements of the Medical Corps of the United States Army 
under your administration. 

Always faithfully yours, 

Elihu Root. 
Brig-Gen. George M. Sternberg, 
Washington, D. C. 

Shortly after General Sternberg's retirement we exchanged 
our home on Sixteenth Street, N. W., for a home on California 
Avenue, with space for a garden. It was here we enjoyed 
many days and hours of great happiness. We had some fruit 
trees, flowering bushes, and a beautiful green turf of blue 
grass. General Sternberg always had a love for flowers and 
had cultivated them in our surroundings in all of our Army 
homes, and now, relieved from all official cares and in need of 
recreation, he transferred his aflfections to his home with its 
extensive grounds. He planted rose bushes and flowering 
shrubs, and was compensated for his labor by splendid returns 
of beautiful roses. During this time he was engaged in the 
preparation of his work on Infection and Immunity, with 
special reference to the prevention of infectious diseases, which 
was published in 1903. He was not left long in the pursuit of 
absolute leisure, for demands for his professional interest 



250 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

came to him in numl>ers. He soon found himself again a 
rather busy man, occupying the chair of preventive medicine 
in the graduate school of George Washington University and 
taking an active part in the antituberculosis campaign, and in 
other philanthroi>ic and social endeavors. 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 

Few men in the last decades of history have performed 
more beneficent work in pure science than General Sternberg, 
and a review of his work in his creative years will bear out 
this assertion. He had a natural taste for scientific research, 
but he always sought the practical application of science to 
the amelioration of human ills. His first important work in 
the field of bacteriology was that on disinfectants and disinfec- 
tion as a means of preventing the so-called germ diseases. He 
never lost an opportunity to impress on the public that the 
eradication of preventable diseases is the highest aim of scien- 
tific medicine. At an early period of his investigations he 
conceived it his duty to educate the public in a knowledge of 
the causation and prevention of disease. 

It was not possible for a man of General Sternberg's interest 
in humanity to remain inactive when much remained to be 
accomplished in matters of sanitary reform. In company with 
other men, trained in practical sanitation, notably our friend. 
Dr. G. M. Kober, whom we first met at Fort Walla Walla in 
1877, he saw great opportunities for improving conditions. 
Men deeply interested in preventive medicine cannot be content 
with the scientific knowledge that unsanitary houses are largely 
responsible for the prevalence of tuberculosis, or that polluted 
river water and impure milk are potent factors in the spread of 
typhoid fever; they must make practical application of this 
knowledge. It so happened that in 1896 General Sternberg 
was a member of the committee on permanent relief of the 
poor in the District of Columbia and Dr. Kober was chairman 
of the committee on sanitation of the Civic Center. Both were 
deeply interested in the purification of the water supply, the 
improvement of market milk and the removal of the slums, 
and their positions gave opportunity for cooperative efforts in 
this field. 

The committee on housing of the Civic Center submitted a 
report of its survey, Jan. 12, 1897, while General Sternberg's 
committee made a preliminary report, Jan. 27, 1897, of which 
the following is an extract : 



252 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

Our investigations show that a large proportion of the 
indigent population of Washington are housed in tenements 
located in alleys of the city; that many of these alley houses 
are unfit for human habitation ; that the majority of them are 
not supplied with water and have no sewer connections ; that 
many of the houses and the yards attached to them are in a 
very insanitary condition; that typhoid fever and other infec- 
tious diseases cause a considerable mortality in these alley 
houses as a result of such insanitary conditions; that the sani- 
tary insf)ection service of the health department is entirely 
inadequate and that it is not in the jxjwcr of the district com- 
missioners or the health office of the city to rcmcdv thc'r evils 
under existing laws and circumstances. 

This state of affairs is a disgrace tu im .... 
and in our opinion calls for legislation by the C< 
United States by which the district i < may be 

enabled to condemn and destroy tenemci unfit for 

human occupation, to condemn and j>ay ior - and 

ground required for the purjjuse of widening alk_= ... open- 
ing blind alleys, conformably to existing laws, to construct 
branch sewers and introduce water and gas, so that sanitary 
tenements may be erected on these minor streets or alleys 
which can he rented to the poor as low or lower than are the 
insanitary dwellings now occupied by many of them. 

The committee on housing of the Civic Center, consisting 
of Miss K. P. Hosmer and Messrs. Henry Gannett, G. W. 

Hanger, G. A. Weber and George M. Kober, chairman, after 
setting forth the facts revealed bv a eeneral sur\ey. submitted 
the following recommendations : 

1. The speedy conversion of all alleys containing a sufficient 
number of human habitations into minor streets and places. 

2. When impracticable to extend or cut through the blind 
alleys from north to south or from east to west and to widen 
them at least to 30 feet, they should be condemned as unfit 
for human habitation. 

3. All alleys and alley houses should be subjected to a 
searching official investigation, the houses should come up to a 
reasonable sanitary standard and dwellings unfit for human 
habitation should be condemned. 

4. The attention of capitalists should be drawn to the fact 
that no class of realty pays as well as alley propert>' in this 
city, and that there is a splendid field for in\*estment in the 
erection of sanitar>' and comfortable alley houses on a business 
and humanitarian basis. 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 253 

General Sternberg's committee said : 

We concur in general with the recommendations recently- 
made by a committee of the Civic Center of this city and desire 
to call special attention to the fourth and concluding recom- 
mendation of this committee submitted, Jan. 12, 1897. 

For the purpose of securing prompt action in accordance 
with this recommendation, the committee suggested a plan for 
the organization of a company which would interest capital in 
sanitary housing for wage-earners. 

WASHINGTON SANITARY IMPROVEMENT COMPANY 

In February, 1897, the Civic Center in conjunction with the 
Board of Trade of Washington, the Central Relief Committee, 
and the Woman's Anthropological Society, held a public meet- 
ing at the Foundry Methodist Episcopal Church on the subject 
of housing the wage-eaniers, which was addressed by Dr. E. 
H. L. Ciould of New York, Bishop Satterlee, General Stern- 
berg, Mr. John Joy Edson, and others. Another meeting was 
held under the auspices of the Board of Trade, March 26, 1897, 
at the Builders' Exchange. 

In the meantime, sufficient stock had been subscribed to 
justify the organization of a company, and a committee con- 
sisting of Messrs. C. C. Cole, A. Y. Worthington, Nathaniel 
Wilson, George M. Sternberg, John Joy Edson, S. W. Wood- 
ward, George L. Andrews, B. T. Janney and George M. Kober 
was instructed to obtain articles of incorporation, which were 
granted under the laws of the state of Virginia, April 14, 1897. 

At the first meeting of the directors. General Sternberg was 
elected president; Mr. S. Walter Woodward, vice president; 
Dr. George M. Kober, secretary, and Mr. John Joy Edson, 
treasurer. 

While the original intention of the organizers was to provide 
homes for the alley residents with a view to removing the 
slums, it was considered best to begin by providing improved 
dwellings for the better class of wage-earners so that houses 
vacated by them might be rented by the next grade and so on 
until the bottom of the ladder was reached. Had the company 
acted otherwise the undertaking would probably have resulted 
in failure. As it is. it has established a standard of sanitary 
homes at reasonable rentals, which other landlords are obliged 
to adopt, or the company will supply the demand. 



254 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

The plans of the apartments, largely General Sternberg's 
own work, were for him a source of great pleasure and relaxa- 
tion. In this, as in all his other work, I had tried to show an 
interest, and I recall that he was wont to say that Mrs. Stern- 
berg and Dr. Kober insisted there should be no common archi- 
tectural features, and that each of the two-stor>* apartments 
should have separate entrance, exits and yards. 

By rigid economy and careful business methods the directors 
were able to pay a dividend of 5 per cent, per annum from the 
very inception of the enterprise. TTie company continued to 
erect homes from year to year, and in 1900 was awarded a gold 
medal at the Paris exix)sition, the only company of the United 
States to receive that award. Gold medals were also awarded 
to General Sternberg, president, and to Dr. Kober, secretary. 
The comi)any now owns 312 houses occupied by 624 familict, 
and its assets, March 31, 1918, were $774,661, with a surplus 
over and above liabilities of $274,661.09 (over 50 per cent, of 
the original stock issued). 

WASHINGTON SANITAKY HOUSING COMPANY 

General Sternberg, to whose zeal and energy the success of 
the improvement comjKiny was largely due, felt that a 5 per 
cent, investment could not directly benefit the day bborers, 
laundresses and other humble wage-earners. In the interest 
of the health and morals of this class, he determined in the 
early part of 1904 to organize a new company with dividends 
limited to 4 per cent., and secured a charter from Congress, 
.•\pril 24, 1904. 

In the language of General Stcmlx^re. the obiect of the new 
company was: 

To build sanitary houses for a deser\ing class of the popoU- 
tion which cannot afford to pay the rentals, which the better 
class of wage-earners pay for the flat:* of the Washington 
Sanitary Improvement Company. To bring the rentals within 
the reach of this class it is necessar>' to build on cheaper land 
and to leave out certain features (bay windows and cellars) 
which add to the expense of construction. It is not proposed 
to provide for the idle and dissolute, and only those who pay 
their rents and take reasonable care of the apartments w^ill be 
retained as tenants. 





Medals Awarded to Ghujrge Miu.kk Sternberg. 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 255 

In May, 1904, the company purchased ground and built 
twenty houses, which were occupied in October of the same 
year. These houses are now rented by respectable colored 
tenants, who pay $7 a month for three rooms and bath, or 
$8 a month for four rooms and bath. It was regrettable that 
the subscription to the stock of the new company during the 
first two years was very small and came mostly from contrib- 
utors to charitable and uplift work. Since philanthropy and 
4 per cent, apparently were not attracting sufficient capital for 
the expansion of the work, General Sternberg had the charter 
amended so as to permit the payment of 5 per cent, dividends. 

At the time of General Sternberg's death, the company 
owned ninety-seven houses, accommodating 194 families, with 
assets of $244,418 and a depreciation fund of $20,973. 

General Sternberg was also very active in an effort to secure 
a law compelling the proper repair or removal of dwellings 
unfit for human habitation. The original bill was drafted by 
him in 1897, but because of the opposition of interested parties 
and on account of the inertia of a few congressmen, who 
objected to this measure on constitutional grounds, it was not 
enacted into law until May 1, 1906. Since the latter date, 2,082 
houses have been demolished as unfit for human habitation 
and 1,592 houses have undergone compulsory repairs to place 
them in a sanitary condition. Coupled with this work, he took 
a lively interest in appropriations for the health department, 
as well as for the conversion of inhabited alleys into minor 
streets. He very properly emphasized on occasion that no 
matter what might be accomplished by legislation in the elim- 
ination of the alleys "it should be remembered that the evil of 
overcrowding will only be transferred to other localities outside 
of the alleys unless a sufficient supply of houses at low rentals 
is in some way provided for unskilled wage-earners of this 
city." Fortunately, the success of the two housing companies 
stimulated private enterprise and resulted in the erection of 
thousands of so-called two-story sanitary flats at reasonable 
rentals. 

ANTITUBERCULOSIS WORK 

Having been the first in America to demonstrate the tubercle 
bacillus discovered by Koch in 1881, and being perfectly 
familiar with the causes and prevention of pulmonary tuber- 



256 GEORGE M. STERXBERG 

culosis, it was natural that General Sternberg should labor long 
and faithfully in the campaign against this disease. He was a 
charter mcml^er of the National Association for the Study and 
Prevention of Tuberculosis, and president of the Society for 
the Prevention of Tuberculosis in the District of G)lumbia, 
from 1908 to 1915. In public addresses on the housing and 
tuberculosis problems he often pointed out that as regards 
pulmonary tuberculosis, W -n had the disgraceful nx>r- 

tality record of 305 i>er hii tousand of population, lead- 

ing all other cities in the United States, with the exception of 
Denver and Los Angeles, to which cities unfortunate victims 
of tiiis disease resort in lari^e luiniliers from .ill uirt> of tlie 
country. 

He knew from jxTsonal iii>|Kction and from records of the 
health department that the blind alleys in which a large propor- 
tion of the poor of the city lived in overcrowded and unsani- 
tary houses, naturally favored the development of tuberculosis 
and other iTif. . t;..ns diseases. To quote his own words: 

Insufficirm Miiiilation and insanitary surroundings reduce 
the vital resisting power of individuals exposed to such condi- 
tions ; overcrowding causes closer contact with tl ' red 
individuals, and the absence of sunlight prevents the .<>n 
of disease germs by nature's principal disinfecting agent. The 
tubercle bacillus is quickly killed by exposure to sunlight, but 
many germs survive indefinitely in dark and damp places. 

He emphasized the fact that the mortality from tuberculosis 
was more than three times as g^at among the colored popula- 
tion as among the white, largely because they occupied the 
most unsanitary alley houses. He made it clear that much 
good could l>e accomplished by social service workers and 
visiting nurses, in jwinting out the danger of ill ventilated 
rooms, improper food and impure milk, and that very much 
dei)ended on the intelligent activities of the health department 
— supported by adequate appropriations, proper sanitary regu- 
lations, and an ample corps of inspectors. 

There is reproduced herewith a chart showing the result of 
excellent leadership in the antituberculosis campaign in the 
national capital, pronounced by Prof. William H. Welch (in 
a private letter dated April 10, 1910), a very impressi\*e and 
remarkable object lesson. In recognition of their services to 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 



257 



humanity the National Association for the Study and Preven- 
tion of Tuberculosis elected two physicians, who were espe- 
cially active in the campaign for the eradication of the white 
plague, to honorary membership; these were Dr. Edward L. 
Tnideau and Surgeon-General Sternberg. Both men richly 
deserved this special honor for their labor of love, and by a 



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singular coincidence both men passed away in the month of 
November, 1915, to receive their reward beyond the grave. 

STARMONT SANATORIUM 

As chairman of the committee on prevention of tuberculosis 
of the Associated Charities, General Sternberg assisted Mr. 
William H. Baldwin and Dr. Kober in securing legislation for 
registration of cases of tuberculosis in the District of Columbia, 



258 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

and in efforts to secure the erection of a tuberculosis hospital 
for indigent patients. Pending the erection of such an institu- 
tion, he urged and established dispensaries for tuberculosis 
patients and secured temporary provisions for their care and 
treatment at the Washington Asylum Hospital. After the 
completion of the city hospital for tuberculosis, there were 
ample provisions for sanatorium treatment within the reach 
of the poor, but there were no facilities for the large middle 
class. General Sternberg set alK>ut to correct this condition 
by the establishment of the Starmont Sanatorium. After a 
tremendous personal cami)aign, with the aid of professional 
and i>crsonal friends, the Washington Sanatorium Company 
was incorjx)rated in January, 190». for tlu- oi.m :tir trt-.ttnu-nt 
of all forms of tuberculosis. 

The sanatorium was located in Montgomery County, Mary- 
land, 18 miles from Washington, on the Bahimorc and Ohio 
R. K. It was beautifully situated on a high point of ground 
over 500 feet above sea level, and consisted of seventy-six 
acres of ground, improved by a commodious new house, which 
was surrounded by fine large trees. The building was used as 
an administration building and consisted of sitting rooms, 
dining rooms, kitchen, office and laboratory, and bed rooms 
for the resident physician, housekeeper and servants. The 
patients lived in the ojxrn, rested on ar extensive porch around 
the main building and slept in tents. These latter were of a 
new dcsijjn and were ventilated through the top; they were 
well floored and funiished, and very comfortable and attractive. 
Later, when the tents became weatherbeaten and worn, cot- 
tages wore substituted. The stock of the company was sub- 
scribed by philanthropic citizens and physicians of Washington. 
All patients were required to pay nxxlerate charges to make 
the institution self-supporting. While the .<^natorium could 
not receive patients at reduced rates, many of the cases 
admitted were assisted by charitable organizations and indi- 
viduals, by churches and by the Starmont Auxiliary-. A con- 
sitlerablc number of the patients were assisted through the 
liberality of Mr. Henr>' Phipps. who at the outset of the under- 
taking sent General Sternberg a sum of money to be used at 
his iliscretion for the l^enefit of deserving persons. 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 259 

One of the greatest blessings to the sanatorium was the 
Samuel Berliner Infirmary, a memorial erected by his son, Mr. 
Emile Berliner of Washington, D. C. Mr. Berliner was much 
interested in the campaign against tuberculosis, and he cooper- 
ated with General Sternberg in educating the public to guard 
against the spread of the dread disease. He edited and issued 
a series of health rules for schoolchildren, distributed instruc- 
tions to mothers in regard to the danger of bovine tuberculosis 
and advocated pasteurization of the milk supply. 

When experience was beginning to tell that the sanatorium 
was not receiving adequate support from patients for whose 
benefit it was especially founded, General Sternberg issued a 
special appeal, calling attention to the opinion of the highest 
authorities on tuberculosis, that it was no longer necessary to 
send patients to distant localities in order to promote their 
recovery. Excellent results could be obtained in properly 
conducted sanatoriums located in the vicinity of our Eastern 
cities, as had been demonstrated in Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and by the experi- 
ence gained at Starmont. This campaign had little or no 
effect on the profession, for patients of means were still urged 
to avail themselves of the climatic advantages of the Far West. 
The fact that a beautifully situated and well kept sanatorium 
was nearby, one that was superior in many respects to other 
institutions of its kind, made no impression, and most of the 
patients who could have assisted the sanatorium financially 
went to distant resorts, while the majority of those who 
remained were themselves in need of assistance. In spite of 
all eflForts to offset this by benevolent contributions, it became 
neoe-s^^ary to close the doors of Starmont. 

THE president's HOMES COMMISSION 

In spite of his varied and extensive knowledge of sociologic 
conditions in New York and elsewhere, President Roosevelt 
up to 1902 evidently had no personal knowledge of the 
wretched abodes hidden away in the alleys of Washington. 
The slums of the national capital presented a sad picture of 
the poverty and depravity, avarice and inhumanity which had 
been encountered and described by philanthropist and moralist 
as early as 1871. This state of affairs had been repeatedly 



260 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

remarked on in preceding years, and the press had given 
publicity to the efforts of General Sternberg and others to 
correct existing evils. Mr. Jacob Riis had made a personal 
inspection of the situation and declared that "he had not 
expected to find in our national capital the peculiar, inhabited, 
hidden alleys, which he had noted and condemned in the 
notorious Whitechapel District of East London, and that the 
insanitary dwellings, in some respects, were worse than any 
he had seen in New York City." Similar opinions had been 
expressed by competent and con5cr\ativc obscr\ers years 
before, but were repelled by the flippant statement that "Wash- 
ington has no slums or serious tenement problems." In the 
fall of 1902, the President delegated Mr. Weller. general 
secretary of the Associated Charities, to study the social condi- 
tions and needs of the national capital, and was naturally 
"surj)rised and shocked at some accounts of 'How the other 
half live,' almost within the shadow of the capitol dome.** 

As a result of this survey of thr !»al problems of 

Washington and other cities, the Pre : i his message to 

Congress. December, 1904, dwelt wisely on the fundamental 
principles underlying social righteousness and civic ideals, as 
show'i i»i »^'' following extraas: 

In |)ui>uuig the set plan to makr ww cjtv n\ w 
example to other .American municipalities, several j 
be kept in mind by tli( • )rs. In the first place, il. 

of this country shoui y understand that no am 

industrial prosperity, and above all no leadership in inter- 
national industrial competition can in any way atone for the 
sappint: of the vitality of those, who are usually spoken of as 
the V -es. The fa- 

and u -rers. the sni. 

of the |)Opulation of the countr>'. and upon their well-being, 
generation after generation, the well-being of the country- and 
race dejxMuls. Rapid development in wealth and industrial 
leadership is a good thing, but only if it gix-s hand in hand with 
improvement and not deterioration, physical arvl moral. The 
overcrowding of cities and the draining of coir ricts are 

unhealthy and even dangerous symjHoms in mi -.- . . . . 

The death rate statistics show a terrible increase in morulity. 
and esi>ecially in infant mortality, in overcrowded tenements. 
The poorest families in tenement houses live in one room and 
it appears that in these one room tenements the a\'erage death 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 261 

rate for a number of given cities at home and abroad is about 
twice what it is in a two-room tenement, four times what it is 
in a three-room tenement, and eight times what it is in a tene- 
ment consisting of four rooms or over. These figures vary 
somewhat for different cities, but they approximate in each city 
those given above, and in all cases the increase of mortality, 
and especially of infant mortality, with the decrease in the 
number of rooms used by the family and with the consequent 
overcrowding is startling. The slum exacts a heavy total of 
death from those who dwell therein, and this is the case not 
merely in the great crowded slums of high buildings in New 
York and Chicago, but in the alley slums of Washington. In 
Washington people cannot afford to ignore the harm that this 
causes. No Christian and civiHzed community can afford to 
show a happy-go-lucky lack of concern for the youth of today, 
for if so, the community will have to pay a terrible penalty of 
financial burden and social degradation in the tomorrow. . . . 
Several considerations suggest the need of a systematic 
investigation into and improvement of housing conditions in 
Washington. The hidden residential alleys are breeding 
grounds of vice and disease, and should be opened into minor 
streets. For a number of years influential citizens have joined 
with the District commissioners in the vain endeavor to secure 
laws permitting the condemnation of insanitary dwellings. The 
local death rates, especially from preventable diseases, are so 
unduly high as to suggest that the excellent wholesomeness of 
Washington's better sections is offset by bad conditions in her 
poorer neighborhods. A special "Commission on Housing and 
Health Conditions in the National Capital" would not only 
bring about the reformation of existing evils, but would also 
formulate an appropriate building code to protect the city from 
mammoth brick tenements and other evils, which threaten to 
develop here, as they have in other cities. That the nation's 
capital should be made a model for other municipalities is an 
idea which appeals to all patriotic citizens everywhere, and such 
a special commission might map out and organize the city's 
future development in lines of civic and social service, just as 
Major L'Enfant and the recent park commission planned the 
arrangement of her streets and parks. . . . 

In his message to the Fifty-Ninth Congress in December, 
1905, Mr. Roosevelt again urged that Washington be made a 
model city in all respects — parks, public playgrounds, housing, 
education, truancy and charitable work. In the same year he 
commissioned his friend, Hon. James B. Reynolds, former 



262 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

head worker of the University Settlement, New York, to make 
a survey of all federal and district departments of the govern- 
ment related to the general welfare of Washington. 

The report of Mr. James B. Reynolds disclosed the following 
facts: The building laws and ordinances were defective and 
incomplete. One ordinance stipulated that each sleeping room 
should measure at least 400 cubic feet for every occupant over 
10 years of age, but failed to place limitations on the number 
of children under 10 years who might sleep in such rooms. 
Hallways of tenements must \)c lighted at night, but no such 
requirement applied to necessary lighting of dark halls during 
the day. Nearly all wooden si ' ' ' ' ' -i popu- 

lated alleys were in a very un . . inade- 

quate water supply and tilthy methods of sewage disposal. 
The worst conditions j)re vailed in i: * " *.ich, imcon- 

troUed by police insj)ection and un '.c observa- 

tion, were centers of disorder and crime. 

To correct these social defects, Mr. Reynolds recofninefxled 
the appointment of a special commission to be known as the 
President's Homes Commission, and suggested the following 
plans : 

1. The President's Homes C M be composed 
of fifteen meml>crs, to include a: „ al estate dealer, 
a practical builder and two representatives of trade unions. 

2. The commission should be • ' ascertain and 
consider the results of the l>esi effi enterprise and 
private philanthropy to improve the lioinc> r the lives 
of the industrial classes in other cities in the y. 

3. It should be instructed to invite cooperation of all having 
interest in the housing problem and the home problem in the 
District, and before presenting its final report it should give 
public hearings on the main points of its program so that all 
just criticism may be heard. 

4. It should be advised to recommend as far as possible 
reforms which may be accomplished by your executive order 
or by the action of the District government. 

5. The commission should ser\e without compensation and 
all expenses inciirn'd should be borne by voluntar>- contribu- 
tions. 

The President designated the membership of the commisskMi 
in the following letter : 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 263 

The White House 
Washington 

May 4, 1907. 
I enclose you a copy of the report made to me by Mr. James 
Bronson Reynolds. In pursuance of the recommendations 
therein made, I have decided to designate a commission of 
fifteen persons, as follows : 

Gen. George M. Sternberg, Dr. George M. Kober, Mr. Wil- 
liam H. Baldwin, Mr. Frederic L. Siddons, Prof. George W. 
Cook, Mr. Whitfield McKinlay, Miss Mabel T. Boardman, 
Mrs. Arnold Hague, Mr. James Bronson Reynolds, Mr. S. W. 
Woodward, Mr. John B. Sleman, Jr., Mr. T. C. Parsons, Mr. 
Emmett L. Adams, Mr. P. J. Brennan, Mr. William F. Downey. 
Can you serve as a meml^er of this commission for the pur- 
pose indicated? I earnestly hope that you can accept, as it 
seems to me that this commission has before it a large field 
of usefulness. 

Yours sincerely, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

At the first meeting of the commission, General Sternberg 
was unanimously elected chairman, and the work was carefully 
apportioned to various committees. After a thorough study 
of conditions, a preliminary report was submitted to President 
Roosevelt, who authorized its publication in July, 1907. The 
full report * was presented in December, 1908, and contained, 
among other valuable features, a pioneer study of industrial 
hygiene. 

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON TUBERCULOSIS 

The sixth International Congress on Tuberculosis was held 
in Washington, in 1908, in response to an invitation by the 
delegates of the National Association for the Study and Pre- 
vention of Tuberculosis at the Paris congress of 1905. At 
the annual meeting of the national convention in May, 1906, a 
plan of organization had been recommended by the directors 
and adopted. Dr. Lawrence F. Flick was made chairman, 
with power to choose and appoint other members of the com- 
mittee to the number of 100, which committee was afterward 
known as the central committee. 

In all the arrangements for the congress, General Sternberg 
showed a remarkable interest, and gladly rendered every ser- 



1. U. S. Senate, Document No. 644, 1909. 



264 GEORGE M STERNBERG 

vice that would in any way promote the success of the move- 
ment. He was appointed the chairman of the committee on 
local affairs, and he entered on the work in his usual energetic 
manner, being at all times in close touch with the chaiiman of 
the central committee of the congress. In addition to this, he 
was vice president of the section on the social, industrial and 
economic aspects of tuberculosis. The unfinished condition of 
the building in which the congress was held necessitated much 
fatiguing effort on the part of members of the local committee. 
General Sternberg's physical strength was severely taxed by 
climbing long flights of stairs, and his heart, never strong since 
his attack of yellow fever, was thereby further weakened. 

During the meeting we gave a dinner in honor of Dr. Robert 
Koch, discoverer of the l>acillus of tu is and the central 

figure of the congress. It will be re*. :..it General Stem- 
berg had known him for many years, and he selected to meet 
him, men who had manifested special interest in the study and 
prevention of tuberculosis. The guests assembled at the dinner 
were Dr. Robert Koch, Prof. Panwitx of Berlin. Dr. Theodore 
Williams of London, Dr. Kdward L. Trudeau. Dr. William H. 
Welch, Dr. Abraham Jacobi, Prof. Calmette. Dr. \'incent Y. 
Bowditch, Dr. George M. Kober, Dr. Frederic Montezamben, 
Dr. Louis Landouzy, Sir Arthur Newsholme (British Local 
Government Buiir'^ V O*- T -ivvr#Mi.-#. V Pii.-i- iim\ \Tr vv'illiam 
H. Baldwin. 

It was on this festive occasion that I'rofc^sor Koch, in 
response to a toast, placed his hand on General Sternberg's 
shoulder, saying, "Here is my brother in the work and one 
whom I admire among the men of the world.*' and on behalf 
of his foreign friends he complimented General Sternberg on 
his scientific attainments and prcxlaimed him the father of 
American bacteriology. 

While i>enning these lines. I cannot refrain from placmg on 
record that at the outset of the present war. General Sternberg 
(whose ancestors had come to this country as early as 1713 
in search of liberty) feh humiliated and indignant at the nation 
which had produced such men as Robert Koch and other 
leaders in the field of preventive medicine, for its disregard 
of international law. and especially for the violation of Belgian 
neutrality. It is needless to add that a man. whose sympathies 



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GEORGF. AflllKH STKRN'RKRf;. 1912. 



HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS 265 

were at all times with the weak and oppressed, had he lived 
to see the day, would have hailed with delight the entry of 
our beloved country into the war for liberty and justice. 

The last great congress attended by General Sternberg was 
the fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and Demog- 
raphy, held in Washington, D. C, from Sept. 16 to Oct. 5, 
1912. General Sternberg, as a member of the executive com- 
mittee on organization and of the committee on arrangements 
aided in every possible way in the development and success 
of its instructive exhibits of hygienic topics. This meeting 
was held in consequence of an invitation extended by the 
United States Government at the fourteenth congress in Berlin, 
and it was attended by sanitarians and scientists from all parts 
of the world, with many of whom General Sternberg was per- 
sonally acquainted. 



CHAPTER NINETEEN 
LAST CONTRIBUTIONS TO PREVENTIVE MEDIQNE 

After his retirement, General Sternberg had often been 
tempted to write the medical history of the Spanish-American 
War. He felt, however, that the task would be too great a 
tax on his strength, and he was forced, therefore, to content 
himself with the publication of isolated papers and addres«»es 
bearing on the subject. In December, 1912, these writings 
were collected in a little volume for <! ' ^ 
friends as a souvenir. .Among other pa; 
tained his reply, previously unpublished, to Col. Theodore 
Roosevelt's article, "The War Department." TTicre was also 
reprinted an exhaustive paper on the "Sanitary Problems Con- 
nected with the Construction of the Isthmian Canal/** in which 
General Sternberg clearly pointed out how the enormous loss of 
life which had attended previous unsuccessful attempts could 
be avoided. He recommended that "the sanitar)* service on 
the line of the Isthmian Canal should be under one head, and 
that the carr)'ing out of measures for the prevention of disease 
and the care of the sick should be placed in the hands of a 
competent medical director." Attention was directed to the 
fact that the problem was essentially the same as that which 
was involved in the camixiign for the eradication of ydlow 
fever in Havana, and in this connection, he cited the work of 
General (then Major) William C. Gorgas. who was subse- 
quently app^"^^«''l '"b"'^ V iTilr ir\ i^fti.fT i^\ ihr P.-irnfiia Ouud. 

SANIT.XKV rKi)ULt.M< UK THE ISTHMIAN CANAL 

After professing his faith in the ability of the United States 
to surmount the engineering and financial obstacles. General 
Sternberg launched into discussion of the hygienic phases of 

the enterprise. 

I have not the data ai uain n. i tunur me to state how nuny 
laborers and ofticials lost their lives during the progress of the 
work on the Panama Canal, but it is generally known that the 

1. North American Rc\*iew, September. 1902. 



LAST CONTRIBUTIONS 267 

number was enormous, and that the insanitary conditions along 
the Hne of the canal, and the consequent sickness and mortality 
among the employees of the Canal Company, constituted one 
of the most serious difficulties with which this company had to 
contend. 

The object of the present paper is to indicate how these diffi- 
culties may be avoided in future, and to impress upon those 
who will have charge of the work the fact that, in the present 
state of sanitary science, it would not only be costly, but crimi- 
nal, to repeat the experiences of the past in this regard. From 
a humanitarian point of view, it will readily be conceded that 
an unnecessary sacrifice of the lives of those who are employed 
to do the work of excavating the canal, would be unjustifiable ; 
but it is not to be expected that an undertaking of this kind 
will be postponed or delayed on account of the possibility that 
large numbers of human lives may be sacrificed in carrying out 
plans which have been made by expert engineers, and approved 
by the Congress of the United States. 

The laborers and those who superintend their work will be 
very much in the position of soldiers who are sent to a distant 
and unhealthy country to promote the interests of their Gov- 
ernment. They go without question or complaint ; and if they 
fall victims to some infectious disease or to the bullet of the 
enemy, their places are promptly filled by others who willingly 
submit themselves to the same chances. But it is evident that, 
aside from the humanitarian point of view, the better they are 
trained for the ser\'ice required of them — whether soldiers or 
laborers — the more difficult it will be to replace them, and the 
greater the financial loss when they are prevented by sickness 
from performing the special duties required of them. A 
Jamaica negro who is employed simply to handle a pick or a 
shovel, may be easily replaced ; but when an engineer who has 
charge of a steam shovel falls sick, the expensive apparatus 
which he has been trained to control may lie idle. 

As great engineering enterprises now depend largely upon 
the employment of skilled labor, it is evident that the preser- 
vation of the health of these laborers is an economic question 
of prime importance. From our point of view, it is so impor- 
tant that it is incumbent uix)n the government which undertakes 
to construct an isthmian canal to give to those who will be 
engaged in the actual prosecution of the work all the advantages 
to l)e derived from a well-organized sanitary service, based 
upon the present state of scientific information relating to the 
cause and prevention of those infectious diseases which are 
most likely to prevail under the conditions which will exist 
along the line of the proposed canal. We know what these 
diseases are; we know the conditions which lead to their 
epidemic prevalence ; and we know how to prevent them. 



268 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

Under these circumstances, it would indeed be criminal not to 
apply this knowledge in a practical way for the preservation 
of the lives of those who are called upon to battle with those 
malign agents which appear to oppose themselves to man, in 
his efforts to overcome the barriers raised by nature to arrest 
his progress in the subjection of the earth to his material uses. 
In this battle the soldier of lalx)r is supported by enormous 
and complicated engines of war, operated by steam, by elec- 
tricity, or by explosives which rend the solid rock. 

But when these are in position and the tearing down of a 
mountain has been fairly commenced, all his efforts may be 
paralyzed, and his steam shovels and diamond drills compelled 
to remain idle, because of the attacks of an unseen foe, such 
as the bacillus of typhoid fever, the parasite of malar-' ^"' «•' 
or the unrecognized germ of yellow fever. 

The laborers upon the isthmian canal will be exposed lu tnc 
ravages of all these infectious diseases; and it may be confi- 
dently asserted that each one of them will claim numerotis 
victims, unless the proper measures of protection arc enforced. 
It is well known that the prevalence of typhoid fever de|)ends 
to a large extent ujwn the quality of the water supply, and that, 
when there is any possibility that this may be contaminated, 
the simple and obvious method of | : n is to sterilize all 

drinking-water. Thi«i is best accon by heat: but it is 

not sufficient to give directions that all waitr ff 

must be boiled. There must be some one to >< !it 

supply of sterilized water, properly cooled, is always available, 
and that none other is used. \Ve cannot depend upon precept 
alone, when it is a question of protecting soldiers or laborers 
from the invisible foes which surround them. They are accus- 
tomed to judging of the purity of water by its taste and 
ap^x^arance, and to drinking any water at hand when they are 
thirsty. . . . 

The conditions under which laborers must live, while 
engaged in the work of excavating an isthmian canal, are in 
many respects similar to those under which our soldiers were 
assembled in camps of instruction during the Spanish- American 
war, with the added dangers due to a tropical environment. If 
questions relating to water supply and sewerage •jx)ned 

until after the laborers are assembled in the K- where 

the work is to be done, detilement of the camp site and con- 
tamination of the local water supplies will almost certainly 
occur. The ignorance and recklessness with reference to sani- 
tary' matters of the average soldier, sailor and laborer have 
Ix'en demonstrated by sad experience : and the inexorable laws 
of nature will inevitably cause the same disastrous " "n 

the future as in the past unless we take adN-antage «.• -,iit 

shed by science upon the cause and prevention of tliose fatal 



LAST CONTRIBUTIONS 269 

epidemic diseases which during past centuries have scourged 
the human race. To ignore the teachings of sanitary science, 
at the outset of the twentieth centur>', would be both criminal 
and disgraceful. In tropical and semi-tropical regions, neglect 
of sanitary police and contamination of the water supply are 
the common causes of other infectious maladies which may 
even exceed typhoid fever in the numbers of their victims. 
Among these we may mention especially tropical dysentery, 
chronic diarrhea, and the disorders due to various intestinal 
parasites. This whole group of diseases may be avoided if no 
food or drink is taken which contains the germs or ova which 
give rise to them. 

But how about the so-called ''climatic diseases"? Can these 
be avoided ? Certainly they can ; for, as a matter of fact, no 
infectious diseases are directly due to climatic influences, 
although climate has much to do with the prevalence of some 
of these diseases when the genns to which they are due are 
introduced to a given locality. Thus malarial fever and yellow 
fever prevail only where climatic conditions are favorable for 
the propagation of the species of mosquitoes by which the 
parasites to which these diseases are due are transmitted from 
man to man. Mosquitoes cannot multiply unless they can find 
water in which to deposit their eggs, and in which their larvae 
can thrive. They lose their activity and soon die when exposed 
to a temperature below the freezing point. Therefore, malarial 
fever and yellow fever are diseases of tropical and semi-tropi- 
cal regions, or of the summer months in the temperate zone; 
and they do not prevail in elevated and arid regions, even in 
the tropics. 

I shall not attempt in this paper to present the evidence 
which justifies the assertion that malarial fever and yellow 
fever are contracted through "bites" of mosquitoes. The 
scientific demonstration that this is a fact is complete, and is 
accepted by well-informed physicians in all parts of the world. 
This knowledge has been gained so recently, however, that 
the public, generally, and many men of science whose studies 
have been in other fields of investigation, are not fully con- 
vinced that their preconceived notions with reference to the 
etiolog}' of these diseases are wrong. I may say to these per- 
sons, in brief, that we know the malarial parasite, which dif- 
fers somewhat in different types of malarial fever, as well as 
the ornithologist knows his birds, or the farmer different kinds 
of grain which he sows. We know the different stages of its 
development in man and in the bodies of infected mosquitoes ; 
we recognize it in the blood of patients, and unhesitatingly 
found our diagnosis upon the result of a microscopical examin- 
ation of such blood. Finally, it has been proved that persons 



270 GEORGE SI. STERSBERG 

may remain indefinitely in the mo<it intensely maUnoos 
regions, such as the Roman < ng 

malarial fever, if they are proi- ,iii- 

toes by gauze mosquito-netting. The climate of iiscif is not 
only harmless, but salubrious. We may safely say the same 
of the climate of the Isthmus of Panama. If we can protect 
the lalx)rers on the isthmian canal from the bites of rr * • -cs, 
they will enjoy an entire immunity from the (ieadh us 

maladies which have been the ^f the i f 

the Caribbean Sea, the Ciulf c; . mid ti 

for centuries. 

But how is this to be accomph^i.^.. . .\ man camiot \vurk 
under a mosquito bar. No; but he can sleep under one, and 
he should be com|)clled to do so when his health is a matter 
of prime importance to his employer. It has long been known 
that ' < to the night air" in malarkms regions is espe- 

cially ' us, and now we know the reason. Mosquitoes 

seek their ioo<l mostly at night ; and man, when not protected 
by a mosquito bar, is especially exposed to their attack*- ^^^^i^** 
he is asleep. That sleeping under a mosquito bar aft 
certain amount of protection from attacks of malarial icvcr, 
has l)een reixratedly rcjKJrtcd by travelers in tropical regions, 
luit the explanation of this alleged fact is of rr 

We have recent evidence tliat a proj>erly > d war 

Uf)on the mos<|uito, and esjiecially u(K>n its breeding places, 
may lead to notable results in diminishing the numbers of the 
pestiferous insect. Witness the success obtained by Major 
Gorgas, Surgeon, U. S. A., during the summer of 1901, in 
restricting the j^revalence of yellow fever in Havana, by mak- 
ing war upt^n been proved b>' Major 
Reed and his .; c agent in transmitting 
this disease from man to man. As another instance of what 
may be accomplished by intelligent efforts and a reasonable 
amount of money, I call attention to the work done by Mr. 
Henry Clay Weeks on Centre Island and its vicinity. 

It has long l)een known that excav.iting the **^il in <o<idled 
"malarious regions'* is very lik^ us 

outbreak of nuilarial fever, or ^ :iis 

we can now understand. Such excavations lead to the lorma- 
tion of pools of rain-water, which afford the best possible 
breeding places for mosquitoes. As pointed out by Mr. Weeks, 
the two ])rinci()al methods of fighting mosquitoes out-of-doors 
consist in drainage and the use of petroleum. All pools of 
standing water are to be done away with by drainage, if pos- 
sible. If not, the surface is to he covered by a film of petro- 
leum, which quickly destroys the larvae of the mosquito when 
they come to the surface to breathe. What has been under- 
taken in a small way on Centre Island should be carried out. 



LAST CONTRIBUTIONS 271 

with all the energy and resources that money and competent 
supervision can command, along the line of the isthmian canal. 
Let us remember that we are undertaking this great work at 
the beginning of the twentieth century, and that the means of 
preserving the health of those employed are as important for 
the success of the enterprise as the perfection of the steam 
ploughs and diamond-pointed drills which will be used. 

In the army, we have a well-trained medical corps, every 
member of which realizes that the preservation of the health 
of our soldiers is a more important matter, even, than the 
treatment of the sick and wounded. To aid in this work, we 
have a body of trained enlisted men — the Hospital Corps — 
equal to about four per cent, of the enlisted strength of the 
army. The army of laborers which will be sent to the isthmus 
will require a sanitary corps having a personnel at least as 
great in proportion to the number employed as is provided for 
our army in the Philippines. At the head of this sanitary 
service, we should have a man fully informed as to the sanitary 
problems which are to be encountered and the best methods of 
meeting them, and also of demonstrated executive ability. 
Under him should be sanitary engineers, expert sanitary 
inspectors, and a corps of intelligent men employed especially 
for the sanitary service. He should be given the necessary 
money and autocratic power for the execution of sanitary 
measures for the protection of the health of the employees 
engaged in the construction of the canal. He should also have 
general direction of the medical service, including the estab- 
lishment of hospitals at properly located points, the purchase 
of medical supplies, etc. He should select the medical staff 
for service at these hospitals and at the various camps or 
stations where the work is in progress. The physicians at these 
stations should be required to make frequent inspections of 
the employees, for the purix)se of placing upon sick-report or 
in hospital any man who has fever or dysentery, or any other 
symptom indicating that he is unfit to work. Rest, suitable 
diet, and proper medication will often restore such person to 
perfect health in a short time. But if left to their own devices, 
soldiers and laborers often fail to report for treatment in the 
early stages of a serious malady, when treatment would be 
most efficacious, and not only endanger their own chances of 
recovery, but, in the case of certain infectious diseases, place 
their comrades in danger. 

It is in this way that epidemics often have their origin. 
Mild and unrecognized cases of typhoid fever, of yellow fever, 
or of cholera are more dangerous, from a sanitary point of 
view, than severe and fatal cases which are promptly recog- 



272 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

nized and properly cared for. Careful sanitary supervision is 
therefore essential; it is, moreover, economical in the interest 
of the canal and of the government which has undertaken to 
construct it, as well as of those who arc engaged in the actual 
work of excavation. 

In the army, for military reasons, the medical department 
is not given any direct authorit>' for the execution of sanitary 
measures outside of the general and ix)st hospitals, which are 
under the direct command of medical oflfkcrs. The command- 
ing officer of a camp or of a militar)- post is responsible for 
the execution of necessary measures which may be recom- 
mended by the Surgeon-deneral of the army, or by the surpeon 
of his command, or which may be required by army regula* 
and general orders from the War Department. In carr\iiiji 
out these sanitar)' measures the medical department has only 
an advisory function. An officer of tl r of the engineer 

corps, or of the Quartennastcr'.s dei-. Is detailed, with 

enlisted men or civilian employees to a^Mst him. to dig the 
sewer, or lay the water pipes, or drain the swamp, ru- : .irul 
the general sanitary police of the post or camp Ls m 
by a detail of enlisted men, or by a squad of general } 
under the direction of a "police sergeant." or in some * 
civilian employees engage<l for il 
this method is best for the army 1. 

and it is contended by some medical otticeni that better rr> 
would be obtained if more authority were given to the mcU:,_. 
officers, and they were made responsible for the carrying out 
of necessar)' sanitary measures, and not simply for making 
suitable recommendations. However this may be. there can 
be no question that the sanitary service on the line of the i-** 
mian canal should be under one head, and that the carr. : ^ 
out of measures for the prevention of disease and the care < : 
the sick should be placed in the hands of a competent "medical 
director," having an efficient staff and full power to act in 
accordance with his best judgment for the accomplishment of 
the desired results. 

The cost of such a sanitary senioe \v. be incon<i'!- 

erable, but it would not W great when c(^: n connectu>:. 

with the magnitude and iniixirtancc o: : ^ \'. : ^ ! I do not 
hesitate to affirm that, from an econLi.:^ -pji:.: '■: \ ;cw. such 
a sanitary service as I have indicated would greatly reduce the 
cost of constructing the canal, and would shorten the time 
required for its completion. 

A single epidemic of yellow fever « among the 

employees along the line of the canal, at .. .en the work 

was iH'ing actively prosecuted, would. \viihi»ui u«.»ubt. be more 
expensive than the cost of an etVioicn: >aiiii:irv ^orx ice during 
the entire period of construction. 



LAST CONTRIBUTIONS 273 

HISTORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER BOARD 

Spurred on by the advice of his intimate friends and stimu- 
lated by the promised attendance of some of his scientific 
co-workers from Latin America, General Sternberg summar- 
ized, for presentation before the Pan-American Scientific Con- 
gress in 1915, the "Researches Relating to the Etiology of 
Yellow Fever Which Culminated in the Findings of the Reed 
Board." 

It is generally recognized that the demonstration that yellow 
fever is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Stegomyia is 
one of the greatest achievements of modem sciences. And 
the credit for this demonstration is justly given to the com- 
mission of which Maj. Walter Reed, Surgeon, U. S. Army, 
was president, which was sent to Havana in 1900, on the rec- 
ommendation of the writer, then Surgeon-General of the Army. 

Doctor Carlos Finlay of Havana had long before conceived 
the idea that the disease under consideration is transmitted by 
mosquitoes, and full credit should be given him for persistently 
advocating this theory, although his own experiments failed to 
furnish any satisfactory proof that his theory was well 
founded. Indeed, such proof was wanting in the earlier 
experiments of the Reed Board, and it was not until, as a final 
exj)eriment, the mosquitoes, after filling themselves with blood 
from a yellow fever patient, were kept for ten or twelve days 
before allowing them to bite a susceptible individual, that suc- 
cess was attained. 

In a report published in May, 1901, Major Reed says : *'We 
have thus far succeeded in conveying yellow fever to twelve 
individuals by means of the bites of contaminated mosquitoes." 
Confirmation of these results was soon after afforded by the 
experiments of Dr. Juan Guiteras, and today yellow fever 
prophylaxis is successfully based on this epochmaking 
discovery. 

But as to the precise nature of the etiologic agent, or "germ," 
we are still uncertain, although in the present state of science 
we can scarcely fail to believe in a living germ, which multi- 
plies in the blood of infected individuals, but which is so 
minute that it has not yet been demonstrated by the highest 
powers of the microscope. 

1. This historical resume was prepared a few weeks before the 
lamented death of General Sternberg, and is an important contribution 
to the history of that momentous period. All of which the writer 
knew and a large part of which he was. John Van R. Hoflf, M.D. 
(Colonel, U. S. Army, Retired). 



274 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

I have no new facts to add to our knowledge of yellow fever 
etiology. But it has occurred to me that a brief account of 
the investigations which led up to the demonstration that 
yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes might be of some 
interest to the members of the Pan American Scientific Con- 
gress. Such an account must begin with the Havana Yellow 
Fever Commission of 1879. 

The wide extent and great mortality of the yellow fever 
epidemic of 1878 led to the organization of a U. S. National 
Board of Health. And it was evidently expected that one of 
the most imix)rtant duties of this board would be to attempt 
to devise methods for the prevention of similar epidemics. 

Among the members of this National Board of Health was 
Dr. S. M. Bemis of New Orleans, who no doubt had mtKh 
to do with the selection of the members of the commissioo 
which it was decided should \k sent to Havana t< the 

disease in one of its princijKiI endemic foci The i; :jip 

of this commission was as follows: i •. Dr. Manturd 

E. Chaille, New Orleans, Secretary, Sur^ - orge M. Stern- 

berg, U. S. Army; Dr. Juan (luiteras. U. S. Marine Hospital 
Service, and Mr. T. S. Hardee, a d\-il engineer of New 
Orleans. Mr. Rudolph Matas of New Orleans was a|)pointed 
clerk to the conmiission, and Mr. Henry Mancel, a Frenchman 
living in New ( )rleans. was engaged as j>lio!r»^mi>her 

In the division of our work it was ' lie 

should make investigations relating to iL , ow 

fever in the island of Cuba. This he did in a most compre- 
hensive manner, as is shown by his published report to the 
National Board of Health. Doctor Ciuiteras undertook the 
search for micro-organisms and for pathologic changes in the 
tissues of yellow fever cadavers. This he did, secundum 
art cm. but his {Xiinstaking lalxjrs did not throw any new light 
on the etiolog)' of the disease. To me was assigned the exam- 
ination of the blood, culture experiments, and experiments on 
lower animals. It would be tedious to attempt to give details 
of my numerous ex|H*riments and observations, but I may say 
that I failed to find any micro-organisms in the blood of living 
patients drawn on different days of sickness and did not suc- 
ceed in producing any symptoms resembling yellow fever in 
the lower animals subjected to experiment. 

I may say that in advance of my visit to Havana I had strong 
hopes that, by motlem methods of research, the germ of this 
infectious disease might be found in the blood, and I was pre- 
pared to photograph it if found. I was provided with Zeiss 
1/12 and 1 18 inch homogeneous oil immersion objecti\>es and 
I had received instructions in the art of making photomicro- 
graphs from Surgeon J. J. Woodward, U. S. Army, a pioneer 




Havana N'ellnw Fever Cinmnissioii. 1879. 



1. Dr. George- M. Sternberg. 2. Dr. Juan Guitcras. 3. Dr. Daniel M. Burge 
4. Dr. Stanford E. Chaille. 5. Mr. A. H. Taylor. 6. J)r. Rudolph Matas. 









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Fig. I. - Yellow frver hUKKl. t;tth »!*> ; f«ul cam 

l'i,j _» _»1l«w ftpvrr \AooA ; tirst tUy ; im%*\ cat*. 

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Kij. , vrllow (r\*t bKKMl kcfM ia • cvhufv c»H 

riiihlh ' ''^" 

riuhtll 



LAST COXTRIBUTIOXS 275 

and recognized expert in the art at the Army Medical Museum. 
Ninety-eight specimens from forty-one undoubted cases of 
yellow fever were carefully studied, with a completely negative 
result, so far as micro-organisms were concerned. My photo- 
micrographs were mostly made with a magnifying power of 
1,450 diameters, obtained by the use of a Zeiss 1/18 inch 
objective and a Tolles amplifier. 

I have a reproduction of a plate illustrating my report on 
the etiolog}' and prevention of yellow fever, published in 1890. 
These photographs of yellow fever blood were made in Havana 
in 1879. The report embodies the researches made by me sub- 
sequent to the return of the yellow fever commission. In it 
I say: 

**The investigations to which this report relates were made 
in the city of Havana, in the summers of 1888 and 1889; in 
the city of Decatur, Ala., in the autumn of 1888; and in the 
laboratories of the Johns Hopkins University, where I have 
continued my researches during the intervals between my visits 
to the infected localities, and since my return from Havana, 
in September, 1889, up to the present date." 

**My bacteriologic studies have been made with material 
obtained from forty-three yellow fever cadavers; from 'black 
vomit* and feces of patients in various stages of the disease; 
and from comparison, from eighteen cadavers in which death 
occurred from some other disease than vellcjw fever, and from 
feces of healthy individuals." 

After the extended researches m iiii< rcjjort I state my con- 
clusions as follows : 

**The ex[>erimental data recorded in this report show that: 

The specific infecti*>i'< .lir.-nt in vrllow fever has not been 
demonstrated. 

The most approved bacicnuiugic nKui(j(i> lail to demonstrate 
the constant presence of any particular micro-organisms in the 
blood and tissues of yellow fever cadavers. 

The micro-organisms which are sometimes obtained in cul- 
tures from the blood and tissues are present in comparatively 
small numbers, and the one most frequently found (Bacterium 
coli couimuuc) is present in the intestines of healthy individ- 
uals, and consequently its occasional presence can not have any 
etiologic import. 

A few scattered bacilli are present in the liver and probably 
in other organs, at the moment of death. This is shown by 
preserving portions of liver, obtained at recent autopsy, in an 
antiseptic wrapping. 

At the end of from twenty-four to forty-eight hours the 
interior of a piece of liver so preserved contains a large num- 
ber of bacilli of various species, the most abundant being those 



276 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

heretofore mentioned as occasionally found in fresh liver 
tissue, viz., Bacterium colt commune and Bacillus cadavtris." 

"Having failed to demonstrate the presence of a specific 
"germ" in the blood and tissues it seemed possible that it is to 
be found in the alimentary- canal, as is the case in cholera. But 
the extended researches made and recorded in the present 
report show that the contents of the intestines of yellow fever 
cases contain a great variety of bacilli and not a nearly pure 
culture of a single species, as is the case in recent and t>'picml 
cases of cholera." 

"On the other hand nonliqucfying t>acilli are ver>' abundant. 

The one most constantly and abundantly present «•« t^^*- ^ ■-■'-- 
terium coli commune of Escherich. 

This is associated with various other bacilli, tomr ot wmcn 
are strict anaerobics and snmr fatmlutive anaerobics. 

Among the facultative one — my Baciiius X — 

which has been isolated 1 «• method in a conskicr- 

able number of cases ami c been present in all. This 

bacillus has not been cnc\ ,■ ... in the comparatixT experi- 
ments made. It is very pathogetiic for rabbits when injected 
into the cavity of the abdomen. 

It is possible that this hacilUi* !« c<mceme<! in the etioloij 
of yellow fever, but no - - b me 

case has been obtained I'} . ' intmals, 

and it has not been found m such numbers as to warrant the 
inference that it is the veritable infectious agent. 

All other micro-organisms obtained in pure cultures from 
yellow fever cadavers appear to be ex * ' * rither by havinf 
been identified with known species, o: . ing been foond 

in comjxirative researches ma' ie ui the area of yeOow 

fever prevalence, or by the fa^ t y have been found only 

in small numbers and in a limited number of cases.** 

It will be seen that I did not positively exclude my Baciiius 
X as a possible etiologic factor, but I say that it was not found 
"in such numbers as to warrant the inferen - " the 

veritable infectious agent." In 1893 I was api>- iHI- 

Gencral of the Army, and my opportunitie> tor pertoaal 
research work ceased. My published reports hai! :it>Qarent]y 
satisfied the profession that the various claims .id been 

made for the discovery of the specific germ »..» >riii.w fe>*er 
had no substantial foundation. Among these were the claims 
of Do Freire of Brazil, of Carmona y \'alle of Mexico, 

of Ci lay * of Havana, and of Paul Gibier of France. 

Since my report above referred to was published a new 
claimant appeared, viz.. the Italian bacteriologist. Sanarellu 
His researches were made in Brazil, and. singuUHy enough, 

1. His micrococcus tetrmgenus febris flavme. 



LAST CONTRIBUTIONS 277 

he found in the blood of the first case examined by him a bacil- 
lus. It was present in large numbers, but this case is unique, 
for neither Sanarelli nor anyone else has since found it in such 
abundance. It has been found in small numbers in the blood 
and tissues of yellow fever cadavers in a certain number of 
cases examined. For a time I thought it probable that Sana- 
relli's bacillus was identical with my Bacillus X. But the 
researches of the Reed board identified it with the bacillus of 
hog cholera, while my Bacillus X appeared to them to belong 
to the colon group. The bacillus of Sanarelli had a certain 
amount of standing for a time because two medical officers of 
the U. S. Marine Hospital Service, who had been sent to 
Havana to study yellow fever, made a report favorable to the 
claims of Sanarelli. But the researches of Reed, Carroll and 
.A.gramonte have demonstrated conclusively that this bacillus 
has nothing to do with the etiology of yellow fever. 

At the present date Dr. Aristides Agramonte is the only 
living member of the Yellow Fever Commission appointed 
upon my recommendation in 1900. Major Walter Reed, Sur- 
geon U. S. Army, was selected as president of this commission 
because he was a trained bacteriologist and at the time of his 
apj>ointment was in charge of our bacteriologic laboratory at 
the Army Medical Museum. He died in Washington from 
appendicitis, Nov. 22i, 1902, aged 51. Since his death various 
articles published in the newspapers have stated that he died 
as a result of his yellow fever investigations. This is a mis- 
take. Dr. Reed was in Washington at the time that Dr. Car- 
roll made, on himself, the first successful yellow fever inocu- 
lation, and he was not inoculated. 

Dr. James Carroll died in Washington, March 9, 1907, of 
myocarditis which was believed by his physicians to have 
resulted from the severe attack of yellow fever which he 
suffered in 1900. Dr. Jesse W. Lazear, Contract Surgeon, U. 
S. Army, was appointed a member of the commission because 
he had had special training as a bacteriologist. He died at 
Camp Columbia, Cuba, of yellow fever, Sept. 25, 1900. His 
attack was attributed to the bite of a mosquito, while he was 
visiting the wards of a yellow fever hospital. 

The written instructions given by me to this selected board 
of experts were as follows: 

"You will naturally give special attention to questions relat- 
ing to the etiology and prevention of yellow fever. As you 
are familiar with what has already been done by other bac- 
teriologists in this field of investigation, I do not consider it 
necessary to give you any suggestions or detailed instructions. 
But it is evident that the most important question which will 
occupy your attention is that which relates to the etiology of this 
disease. 



278 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

You will also take advantage of such opportunities as may 
offer for the study of other infectious ' ' iiecially 

of the malarial fevers prevailing on il a. An 

imfXirtant question in connection with the di^ast ot tropical 
and semitropical countries relates to the etiology of febrile 
attacks of short duration, to which strangers are especially 
subject. Should you have time, there will be ample ojiportunity 
for the study of leprosy in the lepers' hospital in the city of 
Havana. Attention should also Xn- • the infectious dis- 

eases of the lower animals, in < . such prevail, the 

etiology of which has not Ijeen dchmicly determined." 

In addition to these written instructions 1 talked freely with 
Major Reed, president of the Commission, and gave him my 
views as to the most promising lines of experiments relatiii^ 
to the etiolog)' of yellow fever. 

I urfs^cd that efforts should Ik* made to ascertain definitely 
whether the disease can be communicated from man to man 
by blood inoculations. Evidently if this is the case the blood 
must contain the living infectious n which the propa- 
gation of the disease de|)c!ids, notv :iig the fact that all 
attempts to <!• resencc ot such a germ in the 
blood, by mca; -npc and culture methods, had 
proved unavailing. 1 had pre\ inonstrate<l by repeated 

exjxjriments that inoculations < : \ fever blood into lower 

animals — dogs, rabbits, guinea-pigs — give a negative result, but 
this negative result might Ix* l)ccause these animals were not 
susccpti!)lc to the disease and could not be accepted as showing 
that the germ of yellow fever was not present in the blood. 
A single iiKXHilatioii exiK'nim-nt on man had been made in my 
presence, in the city of \'era Cniz. in 1H87. by Dr. Daniel Ruix, 
who was in charge of the civil hospital in that city. But this 
experiment was inconclusive for the reason that the patient 
from whom the blood was obtaim ' the eighth day of 

the tli.soaso. and il was quite pos- : the specific germ 

might have l)een present at an earlier i>cruxl and that after a 
certain numl)er of days the natural resources of the body arc 
sufficient to effect its destruction, or in some way to cause its 
disapixM ranee from the circulation. 

I was especially anxious that this experiment should be 
repeated with the blooil taken from a case in t' " stages 

of the disease. I had not been able to make i c rimcnt 

on myself, as I was immune. ha\nng suffered a sc\*ere attack 
of yellow fever in 1S75. 

The Reed Commission made this experiment with success 
after havi- insmit* 

ted by nv- e days 

after biting a yellow tever jviticnt it is ex-ident that if the 



LAST COXTRIBUTIONS 



279 



experiment had been made at the outset of the investigation 
a similar success would have led inevitably to the conclusion 
that yellow fever, like malarial fever, is transmitted by an inter- 
mediate host, and that this intermediate host is a mosquito. 

So far as I am concerned, there is nothing more to be said 
about yellow fever etiology, and my excuse for writing this 
brief paper is to be found in the fact that the present genera- 
tion of physicians had not appeared on the stage when Profes- 
sor Chaille, Dr. Juan Guiteras and myself visited Havana in 
1«S79, for the purpose of studying yellow fever, and probably 
few of the members of the profession have seen my published 
report of subsequent investigations made by me. 

The following letter is here introduced as especially inter- 
esting in connection with Dr. Sternberg's research in yellow 
fever. 

April 13, 1915. 
My dear General Sternberg : — 

A group of kindred spirits were discussing the eminent 
workers in American science the other evening and we all 
agreed not only in placing you among the foremost, but the 
first pioneer. It may also be some satisfaction for you to 
know that in our judgment Dame Fortune played you scurvy 
tricks, for the same amount of skill and energy devoted to 
plague, cholera, typhoid fever or any of the ordinary bacterial 
infections would have solved these riddles. However, in 
attacking the cause of yellow fever, you originated many 
methods which were afterwards used with success, and fur- 
thermore, cleared away the brush, or rather you blazed 
the trail which made it so much easier for those who 
followed. . 

\'ery truly yours, 

M. J. ROSENAU. 



CHAPTER TWENTY 
GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 

Although General Sternberg had been in delicate health for 
several years, his interest in civic and philanthropic activities 
remained unabated. He rarely missed a board meeting and he 
continued to render active ser\-ice as president of the housing 
companies, the Association for the Prevention of Tubercu- 
losis and of several hospital boards up to within ten dajrs of 
his death. Peacefully and quietly in the early morning hours, 
November 3, 1915, came the end, that end which despite antic- 
ipation or expectation was felt as a shock through a wide circle 
of friends and admirers. 

MEMOIRS OF GENERAL STttKBCIG 

General Sternberg's character and penonalitj may be best 
evaluated by the estimate of his associates. On his se\'entieth 
birthday (June 8, 1906) » a host of official and personal friends 
had presented a loving cup as a token of their esteem, and on 
this occasion, touching tributes were paid to him. 

stunbfjk; the medical omcD 
Maj. Walter D. McCaw. M.C. U. S. Army, taking as hn 
theme General Sternberg's character as a medical officer. -—* 

It is always a pleasant thing to speak good of others . u u» 
said to be a highly laudable thin^: to do SO even when there is 
little to be said, and much to be covered by the mantle of 
charity ; but it is a delight to honor a good man in the presence 
of his fellows, when his hair has whitened in the senice of his 
country, when his whole life presents a continuous record of 
duty well done, of original work and discovery for the benefit 
of others, of some distinct addition made to the sum total of 
human happiness. 

C>ur honored ^v. 1 here as a 

scientist, as a phil. szen; he is 

also, of course, known to you as the Surgeon-General of the 
Army for over nine years, but 1 doubt if all here know what 
a splendid medical officer he was Ixrfore he had made a name 
in science, before he had reached the cha-- * **-r Surgeon- 
General. 

His first appearance in military life ^ High — 

at the first l>attle of Bull Run. where. -ecome 

wann in his new uniform, he met his first mdtury difBcuhy 



GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 281 

and characteristically overcame it — in other words, he was 
captured by the enemy and promptly escaped. We may follow 
him after this through the four years of the war, in the field, 
in the great hospitals and on several expeditions. 

After the war he went West — young medical officers of the 
Army generally did go West and stayed there too — and here 
he soon met more dangerous foes than the veteran soldiers of 
the South, for he went through one terrible epidemic of cholera 
and later while serving South, two epidemics of yellow fever. 
He finished the youthful and we may say the fighting part of 
his service by an Indian campaign, where he received a brevet 
for gallantr}' in performing his duties under fire. Not yet 
forty years old — but already a record to be proud of. 

Knowing what we do of the life of the Army on the frontier 
years ago, we may be very sure that many things occurred in 
the life of our guest fully as worthy of our admiration as these 
bare facts which the record shows. Our small regular army 
has never received from our people the credit due for its long 
and patient work in helping to build up the civilization of the 
great West. The army has never been a band of idlers, fatten- 
ing upon the treasury and waiting for wars that never came. 
There has never been a time that the army was not actually 
doing something for the people. The fringe of the civilization 
of the West grew steadily forward under the shadow of line 
upon line of little military stations. The plains and hills, where 
the Indian sounded his war whoop and the coyote ranged at 
will, are now covered by farms and pastures, by cottages and 
mansions with a sturdy and prosperous people. When one 
goes West now for the first time in a palace car and sees the 
stars and stripes floating over many a schoolhouse he can form 
no idea of the long and perilous journeys of former days, by 
stage coach, by wagon train or on horseback, and the comfort 
that the same flag brought when it was sighted above the little 
camp or cantonment. Under the protection of the forts grew 
up humble villages and scattered ranches, dwellings built of 
mud, of sod or rough-hewn timber. The army fought for 
these people when occasion off"ered (and there was seldom a 
time when there was not fighting somewhere between the 
Canadian and Mexican borders), but it made life possible for 
the settlers in many other ways, and the lonesome post sur- 
geons did their part manfully. I know our guest could tell us 
of many a weary mile ridden on errands of mercy, of many 
a medical and surgical victory won unaided and alone, of 
many a native son or daughter of the golden West laid in the 
mother's arms. 

At the close of his Western service and following his second 
yellow fever experience, the scientific trend of General Stem- 
berg's mind began to show itself in his writings. 



282 GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

From now on, for a long j)eriod of years, the government 
employed him to make many researches in the domain of 
hygiene and sanitation, and to investigate epidemics, so that 
his name soon came to stand high among those who knew. 
Especially in the new and growing science of hacteriolog>- did 
he achieve honor. Just as he had c iliiary service 

with the first l>attle of the war, so <' -neer work as 

a bacteriologist. 

While the immortal Pasteur was at the height of his act 
while Koch was building up his great re|iutation, while I 
was applying the new science to rob the surgeon's kr ' 
terrors, (ieneral Steml)crjj was working and di 
becoming first among the l>aotcriologists of America. 

Finally, after thirty-two years of ser\'ice, when he had seen 
battle and j)estilence, when he ha<l sat with the wisest as their 
|K'er, he was called to fill the h--'- * -^jsition in the medical 
dei)artment of the army. He ! n it the years oi his 

young manhood, he had f^iven it the Ust work of his maturer 
life, and now he was to inspire an<l direct. 

Mis administration was marked by the growth of the new 
science that had revolutionized medicine and surgery among 
the medical officers of his coq)s. and as many and as great as 
have l)een (ieneral Stcml)erp's ser\ices to the army. * » -•-— .e 
his greatest was that he always fosteretl and directly i 1 

a scientific spirit in his cori». ^ -le who was willing to 

work received from him encour... All could gel meant 

of self -improvement — l)ooks, instruuK-nts and material. 

A second great gift, which will be a nionument to him, was 
the establishment of the Army Medical School, which is now 
considered so indis|>ensable. that graduation -' - t is made 
rei]uisitc to obtaining a commission in the r «)r|>s. 

When (ieneral Sternl)erg, after more than iurty 
service, laid down his |>en and vacated his chair at the 
Dei>artment, he could look back upon a life of action and 
accomplishment that might have satisfied anyone. He r -' * 
then have taken his ease as he chose without fear of crit 
but it is characteristic of the man that ' 
ment offered no attractions to him. 1 
that he still is a scientist, a worker, a fighter m the lirst rank 
against disea.se and poverty is well known. 

Others Ix'tter qualified than I will now tell >t)U of the parts 
he has played as scientist, as philai ' and as 

under llicm all will be found the ^ of the . n 

and the soldier. To quote the words mscribed on the com- 
mission that every army officer possesses, underlying all will 
l>c found the "jxitriotism. the valor, the fidelity and abilities" 
of Stembei"g, the medical officer 



GEXERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 283 

STERNBERG THE SCIENTIST AND AUTHOR 

Dr. George M. Kober, an intimate associate of General 
Sternberg during the greater part of his active career, spoke 
of his attainments as a scientist and aathor : 

It is a remarkable fact worth emphasizing, that a man of 
Dr. Sternberg's scientific bent of mind should have seen more 
active service on the battlefield and in Indian campaigns than 
any other medical officer with whose record I am familiar. 
His heroic deeds and brilliant services to the army have been 
recounted, and it remains for me to speak of his battles with 
the invisible foes in infectious diseases, which, after all, are 
more destructive than bullets. It requires no less amount of 
courage to handle day after day disease germs, than to face 
the enemy on the field of battle. To have been one of the 
pioneers in bacteriology is a distinction of which any man may 
be justly proud, and when this distinction has fallen in America 
to the lot of our friend and fellow citizen, we may be sure 
that in honoring him we honor ourselves. 

I do not know of a single medical officer who has faced 
cholera and yellow fever epidemics as often and courageously 
as our distinguished guest. During the cholera epidemic at 
Fort Marker, Kansas, in 1867, he lost a beloved wife, and by 
a strange coincidence he was also the post surgeon when yellow 
fever gained a foothold among the troops at Fort Columbus, 
New York, in 1871. Having witnessed the devastating effects 
of these hydra-headed diseases and realizing that medical 
science had not yet discovered the real cause of these scourges 
which had carried off countless victims and paralyzed the 
commerce of seaix)rt and inland towns, both at home and 
abroad, it is i>erfectly natural that a man of Dr. Sternberg's 
sympathetic nature and truly scientific spirit should have deter- 
mined to devote his life to the study of these mysteries. 

As a result of his experience and efficient service at Gov- 
ernor's Island, he was ordered to the yellow fever zone in 1872, 
and served at New Orleans and Fort Barrancas, Florida, 
where his wife courageously accompanied him. At Barrancas 
he witnessed two epidemics of yellow fever in 1873 and 
1875 ; and during the latter epidemic he himself suffered a 
severe attack. His first publication of scientific value related 
to the clinical history of yellow fever as observed by him 
during these outbreaks. In 1876 he was ordered to the Pacific 
coast, and in the following year he was engaged in an active 
Indian campaign against the Nez Perces Indians, where he 
distinguished himself for gallant service in performance of 
his professional duty under fire at the battle of Clearwater, 
Idaho, July 12, 1877, for which he received the brevet of lieu- 
tenant-colonel. It was my good fortune to meet our guest for 



284 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

the first time upon my return from the same campaign, in the 
fall of 1877, at a frontier post, Walla Walla, where he, in 
addition to his official duties, mastered the French lango^ge 
In 1878, while stationed at the same post, he began i ' ri- 

ments to determine the practical vah^r of di'iinfrf*!. ig 

putrefactive bacteria as the test of v. i hcs€ 

experiments were subsequently com: i^ton D C, 

and in the laboratories of the Johns Hopkins \ 'y, 

under the auspices of the American Public Health A?>c»^.uiiioQ, 
as chairman of a committee apfx^)inte<l and i^ven an appropri- 
ation for the purjx)sc of 'igations. The 
results of these investigaii in full in the 
Transactions of the American i'ublic Health Assodadoo in 
1888, but had won for him the 'Txjmb prize" as early as 1886. 
This prize essay, published in I88/1. and revised b)* Dr. Stem- 
berg in 1899, has been translated into several foreign 
languages, and practical measures of disinfection in this coun- 
try an'" ■ liased upon " :lts obtained in 
these 11 y be truly s,. cientifk disin- 
fection had h> iticcptuMi with the labors ut Kuch and Stem- 
berg. I'^ormerly cenain physical and chemical agents were 
empirically used. Now we know that they are effective 
because they destroy the vitality of the germ. 

No one unless familiar with bacteriological work can have 
the slightest conception of the magnitude and painstakiiy 
labors involved in the determination of the "thermal death 
point of pathogenic organisms and the germicidal value of 
certain chemical and physical agents." It meant daily and 
exacting application extending over a period of years, but it 
was glorious work in the battle against infectious diseases. 
The eradication of preventable diseases is the highest aim of 
scientific mediv • "eld Dr. Sternberg was 

one of the foi will ask with Prince, 

now King Edward, "if certain diseases are preventable, why 
are they not prevented?" My answer is, that while every 
scientific j>liysician familiar with biologic research knows full 
well, that if the methods of prevention recon*— - ' - 1 by Stem- 
berg and his school, including the prompt Jon of the 
dejecta of ever * id fever ration and 
excretions of tl i and tul r exainple. 
were adopted, these diseases wuuKi Ik- reduced to a minimum 
and probably eradicated in the course of a few )xars. The 
facts are, these recommendations have not been generally 
adopted, because the knowledge gained by experimental 
research is not sufficiently diffused, even among physicians. 

Had it been otherwise, the lessors- 1 War and the 

note of warning sounded bv Sur^: Sternberg, in 

his famous circiuar of April i5, \S9S. iour days after the decla- 



GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 285 

ration of the Spanish-American War, would have made a 
deeper impression upon the volunteer medical officers, and the 
disgraceful unsanitar>^ scenes of our military camps would not 
have been observed. 

Notwithstanding these disadvantages we are already reaping 
the benefits of his beneficent work. It is certainly glorious to 
know that the average span of life since 1880 has been length- 
ened fully six years, and that the mortality rate in the United 
States has been reduced from 19.6 in 1890 to 16.2 per thousand 
in 1905, which means a saving of over 290,000 lives in one 
year alone, the greatest decrease having been accomplished in 
the so-called preventable diseases. 

Dr. Sternberg's labors were not limited to this special field, 
for in the inter\al we find him active in other research work. 
In 1880 he discovered the micrococcus now recognized as the 
sp>ecific cause of croupous pneumonia and demonstrated the 
fact that it is found as a saprophyte in the buccal secretions 
of the mouths of perfectly healthy individuals. Later (1885) 
he demonstrated the fact that the micrococcus of sputum septi- 
cemia — his Micrococcus Pasteuri — is identical with the cap- 
sulated micrococcus found in the rusty sputum of patients with 
croupous pneumonia. While it has fallen to the lot of 
Frankel to share the credit of this important discovery, there 
can be no question that Dr. Sternberg first recognized and 
described the organism, although he did not associate it in his 
first publication with pneumonia, as he found it in his own 
and the buccal secretions of other healthy subjects. His work 
on sputum septicemia also for the first time explained the viru- 
lent character assumed in many instances by the bites of 
human beings. 

Dr. Sternberg was also the first to point out the role which 
the leukocytes or white corpuscles of the blood play as defend- 
ers of the living body against the invasion by pathogenic 
bacteria. In one of his publications, in 1881, he suggested that 
the disappearance of the bacteria from the circulation in the 
experiments referred to, "may be effected by the white cor- 
puscles, which it is well known pick up after the manner of 
amebae, any particles, organic or inorganic, which come in 
their way and it requires no great stretch of credulity to 
believe that like an ameba, they may digest and assimilate the 
protoplasm of the captured bacterium, thus putting an end to 
the possibility of its doing any harm." 

This explanation is now very commonly spoken of as the 
"Metschnikoff theor>'," although as shown by the above quota- 
tions, it was clearly stated by Dr. Sternberg several years 
(1881) before MetschnikoflF's first paper (1884) was pub- 
lished. Metschnikoflf has, however, been the principal defender 
of this explanation of acquired immunity, and has made exten- 



286 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

sive and painstaking researches, as a result of which many 
facts have l>een brought to light which appear to give support 
to this theory. 

In 1H81, while stationed at Von Mason, Cahf., he demon- 
strated and photographed probably for the first time in Amer- 
ica the tu)>ercle bacillus, which had been discovered by Koch 
in 1881. 

In the same year he demonstrated that the 90<aned BaciUus 
malariac of Klebs and Tommasi Crurlclli was not an etiological 
factor in the production of malaria, which ser>'ed to concen- 
trate attention nf>on I^veran's Plasmodium discovered in 1880, 
and it was finally proved by the work of Manson and Ross that 
the mosquito was the intermediate host of the malarial para- 
site. It was also Dr. Steml)erg's good fortune, in 1885, upon 
his return from the International Saniiar>* Conference in 
Rome, to demonstrate for the first time in this * 'he 

Plasmodium of I-avcran in freshly drawn Mrw » 

malarial )>atient. This dcmonM ration wa5 the path- 

ological laboratory of the Johns no}>kin$ L ...... ;iy and the 

ameboid movements of the Plasmodium in the interior of the 
red blood corpuscles were i ' ' * ]c. 

In 188/) he ininwluccd ! f t>'phoid fever to the 

medical pt in this in a paper read before the 

AsstK-iatio! icricnn !' 

Dr. Stcml)crg's invt - with reference to the etiolopr 

of yellow fever date \k. ..^71, although his search f'»'' »»^ 

specific organism commenced in Havana, in 1879, w 
member of the Havana Yellow Fever Commission, an<i was 
continued for aUnit ten years Durini; this time he twice 
returned to H pre\'a- 

lence and visits c town 

of Decatur. Ala., during the epidemic oi iSSh. His report, 
published at the conclusion of these extended invrv?;>'nf;.in«, 
shows that all researches made to that date had faii :n- 

onstrate the s|>ecific cause of yellow fever. He «i!. ■' that 
the generally accepletl claims of IXimingos Frcrf ! i'r.izil, 
to have di- n of this disease .o^'cus 

xofithoi/cii tni of proilucinj: . inoc- 

ulations had no scicntitic foundation. He ai- .at 

the bacillus of Ciibier, the '*micT\K*occus tetm»*f . . ...^y, 

and various micro-organisms encountered rlf and by 

other investigators bore no etiological relaiu'n ;t» ttic v!i«r.ise. 
At the International Medical Congress, held ai i <-. :. in 
August. 18^, I translated Dr. Steml>erg's ' i^ror 

Hirsch. giving a synopsis of his wt>rk nnd ^.> tar 

the si>ecitic organism of yellow teN vered. 

It certainly speaks well for his j^.. ^ .:.. ,.,.: e\-en 

now. when we know that the infectious agmt is transmitted 



GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 287 

through the sting of a mosquito, and the search has narrowed 
down to the body of this insect, it has not been isolated, and 
neither he nor others have found it, probably because it is 
ultramicroscopic. 

Having exhausted the resources at his command in his 
search for the germ of yellow fever by microscopical examina- 
tion of the blood and tissues, by culture methods and by 
experiments on the lower animals, he felt that the only method 
left which offered any promise of success was that of direct 
experiment on man. If the blood of a yellow fever patient 
contained the specific infectious agent, this should be shown 
by inoculating a non-immune individual with such blood. 

This line of research, I am informed, was pointed out by 
Surgeon-General Sternberg to Major Walter Reed, chairman 
of the Yellow Fever Commission in 1900, as was also the prob- 
ability that it would ultimately be found that the disease is 
transmitted from man to man by an intermediate host. 

In justice to all concerned, it should be remembered that 
when this commission was organized by General Sternberg, 
the claim of the distinguished bacteriologist Sanarelli to have 
demonstrated the etiological relation of his "bacillus icteroides" 
was generally accepted, and had been recently confirmed by 
two medical officers of the Public Health and Marine Hospital 
Ser\'ice sent to Cuba for the si>ecial purpose of investigating 
this claim. To (jeneral Sternberg it appeared impossible that 
a bacillus, which is easily demonstrated under the microscope 
and which grows in ordinary culture media, could have escaped 
his observation during his extended researches, if it were in 
fact the sj)ecific cause of yellow fever. The only possibility 
of such causal connection seemed to him to depend upon the 
identification of Sanarelli's bacillus as identical with a certain 
bacillus found by Sternberg in a limited number of cases 
during his researches in Havana. A comparison of cultures 
of the two micro-organisms made by Major Reed at the Army 
Medical Museum, 1899-1900, showed that they were not iden- 
tical and General Sternberg, being satisfied that Sanarelli's 
bacillus was not concerned in the etiology of yellow fever, 
organized in 1900 the Yellow Fever Commission, with Major 
Reed as chairman. Major Reed's investigation resulted in the 
demonstration that in yellow fever the specific infectious agent 
is present in the blood of those suffering from the disease and 
that the usual and probably the only method of transmission 
of the disease is through the bites of mosquitoes of the genus 
Stegomyia. This brilliant demonstration by Reed and his 
colleagues has furnished the necessary basis for preventive 
measures which have been applied with entire success in the 
yellow fever zone, and the practical results are of incalculable 
value to mankind. 



288 GEORGE hi. STERSBERG 

I do not consider it unfair to the metnory of Major Reed 
and his collea^ ' ' n I declare that much of the success 

achieved was i possible by the preliminary work of 

Dr. Sternberg, who liad eliminated numerous errors committed 
by others and had contested and overtlirown the claims of 
several bacteriologists for the discovery of the specific organ- 
ism. His conviction that all former claims, even the mosquito 
theory first suggested by Xott and Fmlay were unfounded or 
remained to be proven, is clearly evinced by the appointment 
of a commission, which he personally selected. I have pur- 
posely devoted much lime to the presenuiion of his research 
work, not to detract in the slightest degree from the brilliant 
achievements of my departed friends, but in the interest ot 
truth and justice. 

In giving due credit to all the participants of this splendid 
piece of rcs<*arch, i* )»ere<l that Dr. Stember]g*s 

work was of the hi. ilur. and his daily contact 

with the sick, his . and liactcriological investigations 

in different countric .iniCN in scar«^ ••»' t^r vrllnv frvrr 

germ involved at least the same risks -d 

by meml>ers of the Yellow I-Vvcr Conin.i- -.••:; z. io 

not hesitate to say, that no history oi this imf>i)rtan! -y 

is complete without a just presentar :i- 

xwixry work which led up to the api^ n, 

and 1 prefer to make this statet: c one ot the rocmben 

of the conin>J'«'«5'»" Hr AgraiDoi-,^, -..,: our homred gue«» ^'^ 
still alive. 

Dr. SteniiKr^ ^^ - rtoncer hi this c o untr y, not omy m 

bacteriological invi s. but in the publicmtion of bacte- 

riological t< in i:S80. he tran-' rk of Dr. 

Antoinc M om the French, li work was 

greatly enlai-t i a i ! rought up to date (460 pp.. bvo.. indtid* 
log 152 pp. iri;iii Ma^nin's work). 

In 1892 Sternberg's Manual of Bacteriology was published 
(896 pp., royal 8vo., illustrated by numerous pbotographs and 
cuts). In 1HQ6 this work was revised and published under the 
title of a T k of Bacteriolog)'. 

Dr. Sten oe ISSC^ has been in the habit of ilhmnting 
his published works and scientific pa()ers by phi ' .:raphs 

nuide by himself. He has sliown himself a mastc. > diffi- 
cult art. and in 1884 published a volume on photocnicrographs 
and how to make them (204 pp.. 8vo.). Other published works 
of StcrnlKTg are Malaria and MaUrial Diieaiti {y29 pp^. 
Svo.. Win. \\'cxh1 & Co. New Vi>r \c 

Inoculations in Infectious Di>ca>c> J5 

pp.. Win. Wood & Co., New York. lift^S); infection and 
Immunity, with ^>«^ial Reference to the Preventioo of Infec- 
tious Diseases (293 pp.. Putnam's Sons. 1903). making in all 



GENERAL STERXBERG'S DEATH 289 

2,592 pages, not to mention his chapters in textbooks and medi- 
cal encyclopedias and over sixty other contributions to medical 
and scientific literature, many of which have been translated 
into foreign languages. 

General Sternberg's brilliant services to the nation have 
never been adequately rewarded, but Dr. Sternburg's unceasing 
study, honesty and truth have gained him admission into the 
temple of fame. Brown University and the University of 
Michigan have conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, seven 
societies and academies, both at home and abroad, have 
enrolled his name as an honorary member, three national scien- 
tific associations have chosen him as leader, which position he 
also occupied in the Biological and Philosophical societies and 
the Cosmos Club of this city. . . . 

STERNBERG THE PHILANTHROPIST 

Hon. David J. Brewer, Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, recounted General Sternberg's works of philanthropy: 

Reference has been made to his distinguished career in the 
army. He not only rose to the highest position in the medical 
department, but by his studies and investigations added largely 
to its great reputation. When he had reached the age at which 
the Government holds that an officer has filled out the full 
measure of his service to the nation, and had retired him there- 
from, instead of dropping to a life of ease and idleness, as so 
many do, he entered upon a new career of exceeding useful- 
ness and blessing to the community. 

Let me mention some of the activities in which he has been 
engaged since the Government said he had become too old to 
serve it. You may have been in the slums of New York or 
other large cities, and been shocked with the pitiable sights. 
Mere shacks or tenements for homes, with little of sunlight or 
fresh air, with dirt and filth abounding, vice and crime show- 
ing their hideous faces, and crowded with old and young, 
ignorant of cleanliness, without ambition or hope, and present- 
ing only miserable pictures of the possible wretchedness of 
life. Who that has seen them has not longed for something 
to sweep away this great volume of ignorance, filth and vice, 
and trusted that nothing like it would be found in the city in 
which he dwelt. While Washington has never been so afflicted 
as some cities, yet we had our slums and General Sternberg 
became a leader in our deliverance therefrom. He organized 
a housing company, which has already erected t\vo hundred 
houses, with two apartments in each house, filled with pure air 
and sunlight, with all sanitary accommodations and under a 
supervision which insures decency and cleanliness in^ every 
home. And as these houses were all speedily occupied, in 



290 GEORGE M, STERSBERG 

order to reach a class which could not afford even the small 
rent charged for them, he organized a second hoasuii^ con>- 
pany, which has already put up forty houses, with two apart- 
ments in each, smaller, cheaper, and yet clean, with sanitary 
conveniences, and where fresh air and sunlight abound. 
Surely Washington owes much to him who has secured for 
four hundred and eiglity families comfortable, decent, clean 
homes, places in which old and young are surrounded by the 
conveniences of life and in which the children will grow up 
with some idea of the better things of life. 

But this is not all. He has been for years the president of 
the Citizen's Relief Society, that association which, workin|r 
with the Associated Charities, provides funds for the relief of 
the poor and dependent, and at the same time strives to secure 
for each an opi^rtunity for work and a chance to earn a living 
and to otx-n the pros}>ect of a life of usefulness and respecta- 
bility. Knowing as I do a little of the great work in which 
these associations are engaged. 1 feel that he has been in this 
one of the real benefactors of this city. 

But still again, his active spirit of humanity was not content 
with these labors. That terrible disease which has carried off 
so many lives and which wr popularly know as the white 
plague was present everywhere. It appealed to him to do 
what was possible to stay its ravages, \\hoever has, as I have 
done, stood beside the l>edside of a dear one. and seen that dear 
one grow thinner and thinner, paler and paler, as she w:»*»— * 
away, until at last the end came and her "pale and sacred 
was l>ome away to rest in that which in ancient Saxon phrase 
is called (toil's Acre, can but l«v>k with thankfulness upon one, 
a master of the science of : . who gives his time and 

toil and skill to ward off ti i^e. Within twenty miles 

of this city he has established a sanitarium or camp, whichever 
it may be called, where from twenty to thirty tuberculosis 
patients are cared for. and all that science has discovered in 
the way of is applied. 

Surely. ii> . c honor which attaches to his 

distinguished service as medical director of the Army, I feel 
that his last days and his last work spent in these humanities 
have been his best days and his best work. He has shown that 
he knows the religion of the humanities. He has read the 
stor>' of the Good Samaritan. He has caught the inspintioQ 
of those words of the Master, "inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye ha\'e 6c^* •• 
unto me." While my friends Rabbi Stem and Simon 
may not believe in the Nazarene as I do. I am > ' :hcy 

endorse the blessedness of the work which Gene: iberg 

has done. Whether he be orthodox in theology I do WK 



GEXERAL STERXBERG'S DEATH 29\ 

but I do know that he has been orthodox in devotion to the 
humanities and the blessed work of making Hfe on this earth 
better and sweeter. . . . 

At a joint memorial meeting of the Medical Society of the 
District of Columbia and the Association for the Prevention 
of Tuberculosis held January 19, 1916, Dr. S. S. Adams 
referred to General Sternberg's efforts for the suppression of 
tuberculosis in these words: 

Only those who had been closely associated with General 
Sternberg in the local organizations for the prevention of 
tuberculosis could realize fully the tremendous impetus and 
sustaining power contributed by his personality: he was undis- 
mayed alike by the magnitude of the task and by public 
indifference to the needs of the work. 

At a similar meeting,* Col. Edward L. Munson, M.C., U. S. 
Army, said : 

It is with a mingled sense of melancholy pleasure that the 
writer undertakes a brief summary of the broad achievements, 
useful service and sterling worth of General Sternberg, for it 
was his duty to ser\e as a member of the official family of the 
latter during the trying period following the cessation of hos- 
tilities with Spain and including the Philippine insurrection. 

As a chief in war time, the great abilities of General Stem- 
berg were to be respected. He inherited conditions for which 
he was in nowise responsible, and which higher authority, 
though appealed to, would not furnish the means of preventing. 
That General Sternberg appreciated in advance most of the 
faults and difiicuhies encountered in the Spanish War is per- 
sonally known to the writer from long and confidential asso- 
ciation. He did all that the means afforded which were 
provided him. 

As a scientist, he, in his long career, brought great fame to 
the Medical Corps. He embodied its scientific ideals, and he 
brought many of these ideals to accomplishment. He was a 
large contributor to medical science, the library of the Surgeon- 
General's Office having on file no less than 142 separate books 
and articles from his pen. \>ry many of these were based on 
his own work, and represented notable additions to the advance 
of medical and scientific progress of the time. He was a 
pioneer, who blazed the trail into many new fields of thought 
where others followed. 



1. Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical 
Medicine. Washington, D. C, May 9, 10, 11, 1916. 



292 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

Of clean and lofty purpose, kindly nature and almost 
womanly sympathy; he was a true friend. The writer will 
always hold the personal association with General Sternberg, 
which he enjoyed, in grateful remembrance. In his sense of 
fairness and even justice, his standards were the highest He 
played no favorites. He leaned backwards in his effort not to 
be influenced by personal preference. WTien h came to official 
business, he had neither friend to reward nor enemies to 
punish. A square deal, an equal chance for all, a further 
opportunity for those who took advantage of those already 
given them — this was his code. 

Dr. A. C. Abbott, one of the foremost bacteriologiisU of 
America, read the following memorial note before the CoDcfe 

of Physicians of Philadcljihia, April 5, 1916: 

I am highly honored by your invitation to present a minute 
on the death of our laic fellow, George Miller Sternberg, Sur- 
geon-General of the United States Army, retired. In the death 
of General Sternberg we note the passing of one of America's 
most active pioneers in modem preventive roedidiie. He wai 
certainly the first American to be co ni picooatly identified with 
the science of bacteriology and to recognize its bearing upoo 
the problems of epidemiology and prevention. His niott 
im{X)rtant investigations were made at a time lofv antedatiiw 
the advent of the methods of Koch now invariaMy employed 
in bacteriological research ; methods that are today the common 
property of every medical student graduated from our reput- 
able schools. It wai my happy privilege to have been 
associated with Dr. .'^' - in the fall and winter of 1884- 

1885 — when his rank i of major. He was then holding, 

by courtesy, a Fellowship in the Johns Hopkins University. 
It was through his influence and kindly interest that my atten- 
tion was drawn to the problems of public hygiene, and I am 
grateful for this opjwrtunity to record my deep indebtedness 
to him. Only those intimately associated with Dr. Sternberg 
can appreciate his singular individuality — a tireless work er , 
unsatisfied with anything less than the best ; convinced only 
by arguments emanating from experimental data and always 
with an eye to the application of results to the welfare of man- 
kind. Busy at all times, but never hurried, his affairs were in 
such order that confusion was unknown; modest, kindly, gen- 
erous and patient, it was a privilege and delight to receive the 
benefit of his council. 

General Steml>erg was bom at " k Seminary, Utscgo 

Co.. N. Y., on June 8. 1838. \\t ^.\ > residence in Wash- 

ington, D. C, on November 3, 1915. at the age of seventy- 



GEXERAL STERXBERG'S DEATH 293 

seven years. He was a descendant of one of the German 
families from the Palatinate that early settled New York State. 
He spent his boyhood days and received his preliminary educa- 
tion at Hartwick Seminary where, for a time, his father was 
the principal, and his grandfather, on the maternal side, was 
a professor. At the age of sixteen he was a self-supporting 
school teacher. He began the study of medicine at the age of 
nineteen under the preceptorship of Dr. Horace Lathrop of 
Cooperstown, N. Y., and was graduated as Doctor of Medicine 
from the College of Physicians and Surgeons with the class 
of 1860. He practised medicine for a time at Elizabeth, N. J. 

With the outbreak of the Civil War, he decided to enter the 
army, and in 1861, after due examination, was appointed 
Assistant Surgeon of the United States Army. He was in 
active service throughout the war. He was present at the first 
battle of Bull Run, and at the engagements at Gaines' Mills, 
Turkey Ridge, and Malvern Hill. He received brevet com- 
mission for meritorious services during the war and later the 
brevet commission of Lieutenant-Colonel for "gallant service 
in the i)erformance of his professional duties under fire in 
action against the Indians at Clearwater, Idaho, in 1877." 

In an exhaustive notice of General Sternberg's scientific and 
military career, his friend. Dr. Kober, of Washington, remarks: 
"Dr. Sternberg has seen more active service on the battlefield 
and in Indian campaigns than any other medical officer with 
whose record we are familiar." 

But it is not alone on the battlefield that Dr. Sternberg 
exhibited his fidelity to duty. He was medical officer at Fort 
Harker, Kansas, in 1867, during an epidemic of Asiatic cholera, 
and was post surgeon during an outbreak of yellow fever 
among the troops at Fort Columbus, N. Y., in 1871. It is 
probable that impressions made by the ravages of those dis- 
eases had much to do with deciding Dr. Sternberg in the 
course that his subsequent medical activities were to take. The 
valuable experiences gained in his study of the yellow fever 
outbreak at Fort Columbus resulted in his being detailed in 
1872 for service at New Orleans, La., and Fort Barrancas, 
Florida — both in the so-called yellow-fever zone. At the 
Florida post he passed through two epidemics, in the second 
of which he himself contracted a severe attack of the disease. 

The first of Dr. Sternberg's scientific publications was a 
clinical description of yellow fever as witnessed by him in the 
several epidemics through which he had passed. In 1878, 
while post surgeon at Fort Walla Walla, on the Pacific slope, 
he began investigations upon the value of commercial disinfec- 
tants — a line of work with which his name was conspicuously 
identified until the question was finally and satisfactorily set- 
tled. His experiments, begun at an army post, were continued 



294 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

in Washington, D. C, and at the Johns Hopkins University, 
where the importance of his researches led to his being 
awarded a "Fellowship by courtesy." He was at that time of 
the rank of Major, detailed for post duty at Baltimore. The 
expenses incidental to so costly an investigation were borne by 
the American Public Health Association of which he was at 
one time president, and for years an active and influential 
member. The results of his investigations upon disinfectants 
won for him the **I^mb Prize" in 1S86. The honor of having 
placed the whole question of disinfection on a scientific basts 
belongs conjointly to Sternberg and Koch. It was during his 
fundamental investigations upon the value of commercial dis- 
infectants, made under a g^nt from the .-Vmerican Public 
Health Association, that I l>ecame his assistant, and it was 
from him that I received my first instruction in iMcteriolog)-. 
Were it not for fear of wandering too far afield. I would 
relate some of my exix-rienccs while associated with this 
remarkable man. At the time the accurate, simple and k)gical 
methods of Koch were not available to workers in .'Vmerican 
lalx)ratories. In fact there were no workers at all in pure 
bacleriolog}' in this countrj-, (ieneral Sternberg, to my knowl- 
edge, being the only one, and 1 can assure you that I appre- 
ciated my good fortune when the op|iortunity presented for me 
to serve as his assistant. ( )nly those fannliar with the exacting 
nature of a serious bacteriological research, conducted! by the 
immature methods of that time, can appreciate the magnitude 
of his work on disinfection — and when it be made known that 
through all that ii tion he was ably c " i: the 

affairs of the mill ; t to which he was .. one 

realizes to some extern liic tir» ' -^' and luvc ui work 

with which he was endowed. ^ u with his studies of 

disinfectants were researches in other fields of bacteriolog}*. 
In 1880 he discovered in the saliva a micrococcus to which he 
gave the name "Micrococcus i)asteuri." As he had found it 
m his own saliva and in the saliva t^' " r normal 

human iK'ings — and as he had demonstr.. mtroduc- 

tion into the tissues of certain animals rc> v in fatal 

septicemia — it is not astounding to find hii: , :>ed when 

Fraenkel declared pneumonia in man to be caused by an 
organism identical with "Micrococcus pasleuri;" which organ- 
ism is now generally known as "pneumococcus." The literature 
of the time on the subject is somewhat V ^^ due in large 

part to the limitations of and to the i: - in ax-ailable 

technic — but nevertheless, call the orga- -. e may, it 

was Dr. Sternberg who discovereti it at i many of 

its peculiarities, though he failed to recognize its most impor- 
tant activities. In 1881 he proved conclusively that the so- 
called "Bacillus malariae" of Klebs and Tommasi Crudelli, then 



GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 295 

attracting wide-spread attention, had nothing to do with the 
causation of malarial fever and in 1885 demonstrated for the 
first time in this country the living, motile Plasmodium malariae 
first seen by Laveran in 1880, and subsequently proved to be 
the cause of malarial fever. 

Of the many and varied problems with which Dr. Sternberg 
was identified, probably none absorbed more of his energies 
than that concerning yellow fever. It would take more time 
than is allowed me to follow his studies of this disease in all 
their ramifications. We can, however, content ourselves with 
saying that through his individual effort, i. e., investigations 
made by him personally — he closed once and for all time the 
question as to the likelihood of yellow fever being a disease 
of bacterial origin. Only those who were on the spot and saw 
the remarkable tenacity with which he followed out to its 
termination every promising lead, can realize the determination 
of a man whose only reward for an enormous expenditure of 
energy was negative results. But we must not underestimate 
the value of such results — remember, please, that at the time 
of which I write almost nothing was known of yellow fever 
beyond its clinical manifestations, and bacteriology was hailed 
as the science through which the riddle was to be solved. 
Errors in abundance were made and had to be corrected. Dr. 
Sternberg did this. Having exhausted the subject so far as 
the available bacteriological, microscopic and inoculation 
methods would permit. Dr. Sternberg conceived the idea of 
experiments on human beings. Dr. Carlos Finlay, of Havana, 
had already made certain inconclusive investigations in the way 
of protective inoculations of man through the use of infected 
mosquitoes. The next step was the appointment of the U. S. 
Army Commission with Major Walter Reed at its head. The 
results of the activities of that commission in enlightening us 
upon the subject are too well known to require comment at 
this time. But the essential thing to remember is that the 
organization of the Yellow Fever Commission was General 
Sternberg's idea. 

Not the least important of his many activities were those 
concerned with photomicrography, of which he was a master. 
He was the first in this country to reproduce by photography 
Bacillus tuberculosis discovered by Koch in 1882. In 1884, in 
his revision of his 1880 translation of Magnin's Bacteriology, 
he published a large group of photomicrographs of bacteria 
that were comparable in their excellence to many that have 
subsequently appeared, and superior to any in existence at that 
time. In 1892 appeared the first edition of his own book, A 
Manual of Bacteriology, and in 1896 a revision entitled a 
Text-book of Bacteriology. In addition he was the author of 
several other books on special topics, notably Malaria and 



296 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

Malarial Diseases; Immunity, Protective Inoculaiion in Infec- 
tive Diseases and Serum Therapy; Infection and Immunity, 
with Special Reference to the Prevention of Infectious 
Diseases. 

He was a frequent writer of chapters for collaborative books, 
of articles for encyclopedias, and more than sixty special scien- 
tific papers stand to his credit. 

During the time of his Surgeon-Generalship (1893 to 1902) 
he established the Army Medical School; established labora- 
tories for scientific investigations at most of the important 
army posts; provided all new army hospitals with modem 
oi:)erating rooms, and encouraged their use by surgeons in the 
service; he established the army tuberculosis hospital at Fort 
Bayard, New Mexico. Immediately after the declaration of 
war with Spain, within four days, to be exact, he issued a 
circular upon camp sanitation and dwelt upon the possible 
role of flies in disseminating ty|>hoid fever. This warning wis 
not heeded, with results well known to all of us. 

He organized the board for the investigation of typhoid 
fever; composed of the late Major Walter Keed. the late Dr. 
E. O. Shakespeare, a Fellow of this College, and Dr. Victor 
C. Vaughan, of the University of Michigan. Upon his recom- 
mendation Drs. Vaughan and Shakespeare were commissioned 
as surgeons of volunteers. As said, he organized the Yellow 
Fever Commission composed of Major \\'alter Reed, Drs. 
Carroll, I^zear and Agramonte. During the Spanish-Ameri- 
can War he organized eight army hospitals at appropriate 
points and equipped two hospital ship>s and one hospital train. 
He organized the female nursing corps and the corps of dental 
surgeons in accordance with an act of Congress, passed at his 
suggestion, and recommended a large increase in the medical 
corps to correspond with the increase in the army made in 
1901. 

After his retirement from active service — necessitated by 
the age limit — he devoted his tireless energies to what he 
regarded as the duties of a citizen. He was affiliated in a con- 
spicuous way with many organizations having to do with the 
welfare of the National Capital. He was president and 
founder of the Washington S ' rovement Company; 

of the Washington Sanitary \ npany : prefident of 

the IVcsiclent's Homes Com^ll^^^on. ens* 

Relief Association; president of the v ., num 

Company ; director of the Starmont Sanatorium ; chairman of 
the committee on the Prevention of Tuberculosis ; member of 
the committee on the International Tuberculosis Congress; 
president of the Board of Directors of Garfield Hospital; 
president of Board of Visitors of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, 
and Professor of Preventive Medicine in George Washington 



hi) 



GENERAL STERNBERG'S DEATH 297 

University. He held membership in many important societies. 
Besides being a Fellow of this College, he was a member and 
ex-president of the American Public Health Association; mem- 
ber and ex-president of the American Medical Association; 
member and ex-president of the Association of Military Sur- 
geons; member and ex-president of the Philosophical Society 
of Washington; of the Biological Society of Washington; of 
the Cosmos Club; honorary member of the Association of 
American Physicians ; of the New York Academy of 
Medicine; of the Epidemiological Society of London; of the 
Academy of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro ; of the American 
Academy of Medicine, and of the French Society of Hygiene. 
The Honorary Doctorate of Laws was conferred upon him by 
the University of Michigan in 1894, and by Brown University 
in 1897. 

Dr. Sternberg was what we are pleased to call a self-made 
man. His early environment was certainly not luxurious: a 
schoolteacher at sixteen; a student of medicine on borrowed 
money at nineteen, all of which money he subsequently earned 
and returned to the lender; a surgeon in the United States 
Army at the age of twenty-three — speaks for individual 
capacity that bade well to carry its possessor far in the race 
for preferment — as his subsequent history has well shown to 
have been the case. 

An incident during the course of my acquaintance with him 
often impressed me with his will and energy. At the age of 
fifty-five or thereabouts he knew nothing of the German lan- 
guage. It was at a time when the most important of our 
researches were emanating from the German laboratories. He 
knew French intimately, but that helped only in part. Was 
he discouraged ? Not at all. With the aid of a tutor and by 
close application he acquired a trustworthy reading knowledge 
of German in less than two years. 

Though I knew General Sternberg more or less intimately 
from 1884 until the date of his death, I never so fully appre- 
ciated the magnitude of his attainments, his services to man- 
kind, or his devotion to duty as I did in the course of 
preparation of this minute. In the death of General Stem- 
berg, this College loses one of its most distinguished fellows, 
American medicine, a pioneer of whose attainments it may be 
justly proud, and those who knew him well, a faithful, kindly 
friend. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 

CX)NGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION 

During the last years of General Sternberg's active ser\ice 
in the Army, he was on terms of intimate friendship with 
Senator Gallinger. Both were educated physicians, interested 
in medical charities and in the protection of public health. It 
was but natural then, that after the death of General Sternberg, 
Senator Gallinger should introduce a bill in the Senate granting 
a pension to his widow. Mrs. Martha L. Sternberg. July 19. 
1916, after recognition hv tlu- i.rf^i«line officer. Senator Gal- 
linger remarked : 

Mr. President, I am well aware of the fact that the Com- 
mittee on Pensions, and the Congress itself, is not as liberal in 
the matter of the payments of pensions to the widows of gen- 
eral officers, as it was at the time when I had the pr ' of 
acting as Chainnan of the Committee on Pensions. r, 

I wish to call the attention of the Senate to the case of Mrs. 
Sternberg, widow of the late General Sternberg, which is so 
unusual, so clearly out of the ordinary, that I want to make an 
appeal to the Senate to increase the amount that is allowed in 
the bill. 

General Sternberg had a most remarkable career. Mr. Presi- 
dent. It was General StemlH-rg who organized the Yellow 
Fever Commission in 1900. which Commission, under the late 
Major Reed made the famous investigation resulting in the dis- 
covery that yellow fever was due to inoculation by mosquitoes, 
which discovery revolutionized the views that were held con- 
cerning that disease and practically obliterated it from the 
United States. 

General Sternberg. Mr. President, as a scientific man prob- 
ably held more important positions than any other man in the 
history of this Government. I have here a list of positions he 
held, with which I hope every Senator will acquaint hiniself 
if he has any objection to the motion which I am about to make. 
I would, if time jxjrmitted, discuss this matter at considerable 
length, but I have only five minutes in which to do it. and shall 
content myself with reading one or two letters in reference to 
the matter which I find in the rcpon of the Committee on 
Pensions. 

Mr. Tillman : "I suggest to the Senator to insert them in the 
Record without reading." 



CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION 299 

Mr. Gallinger: "I want to read what Dr. Gorgas — General 
Gorgas, as we ordinarily know him — says. I find this letter 
from him : 

War Department, 
Office of the Surgeon-General, 
Washington, March 9, 1916. 
Dear Mrs. Sternberg : 

My long service in the Army Medical Corps under General 
Sternberg has given me a very intimate knowledge of the 
character of his work during the long period he served his 
country. He began his service during the Civil War at the 
Battle of Manassas, on which occasion his services were most 
gallant and conspicuous. For many years after the Civil War 
he served on our Western frontier. 

His scientific investigations with regard to yellow fever were 
extensive and useful. He had a severe attack of yellow fever 
at Fort Barrancas, Fla.. contracted while he was post surgeon 
at that post in connection with his duties. When he was made 
Surgeon-General of the Army in 1893 he was in the forefront 
of bacteriologists and would have at that time ranked among 
the first two or three bacteriologists of the world. I think his 
memory deserves well of our country. 

Very sincerely yours, 

Wm. C. Gorgas, 
Surgeon-General, United States Army, 

Mr. President, there is a very interesting letter here from 
Dr. George M. Kober. a well known scientist of this city; a 
remarkable letter from Ex-Senator Root in which he pays 
tribute to the remarkable achievements of General Sternberg; 
a letter from General Wood, and other testimony that is of 
very great importance." 

Senator Gallinger thereupon moved that "$50" be stricken 
out and that "$100" be inserted in order that adequate provision 
might be made for the widow of an illustrious scientist and 
patriotic American. 

Mr. Johnson of Maine: "Mr. President, the case of Mrs. 
Sternberg appeals very strongly to the Committee because of 
the eminent services of her husband, which the Senator from 
New Hampshire (Mr. Gallinger) has detailed here ; but in only 
very few cases has Congress given a pension above $50 a 
month. Fifty dollars a month is the limit which the Comrnittee 
on Pensions in the House and in the Senate have established 
where a soldier requires the help of another person to care for 
him; and we have felt that in the case of Mrs. Sternberg in 
allowing $50 a month, we have been very liberal. There are 
on the list a very few. but there are a few, who have pensions 



300 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

at $75 a month and a few who have pensions of $100 and only 
a very few, as the Senator from New Hampshire knows. 

Mr. Shafroth: "Mr. President, it seems to me that this 
case is upon a different basis from the one suggested by the 
Senator from Maine. Dr. Sternberg was a man who con- 
tributed to science a wonderful discovery that has revolution- 
ized the treatment of one of the most terrible diseases that has 
ever scourged mankind. It seems to me as a tribute to that 
discovery, if nothinjj else, the amendment oflFered by the 
Senator from New Hampshire ought to be adopted." 

Mr. Gallinger: "Mr. President, if the Senator from Colo- 
rado will permit me I desire to suggr«it that during the last 3reart 
of Dr. Sternberg's life he did remarkable service in the matter 
of tuberculosis, giving his time freely and contributing very 
largely to the ki - of that dread disease, as well as to the 

knowledge of \ ^er." 

The V'ice President : "The question is on the amendment of 
the Senator from New Hampshire." (The tmendroent wms 
agreed to.) 

August 5. 1916, Mr. Keating of Colorado called up in the 
House of Representatives the conference report on p ent ioiH 
bills which included that for Mrs. Sternberg: 

Mr. Keating said: "Mr. Speaker, there has been a great 
deal of discussion concerning General Sternberg's part in the 
camjKiign which resulted in the conquest of yellow fever. 
Perhaps the most impressive witness we can produce at this 
time is Dr. Agramonte, the surviving member of the famous 
Sternberg Commission. In January of this year Dr. Agra- 
monte was in this city, and he addressed the follov^-ing letter 
to Dr. George M. Kober, a distinguished scientist and one of 
Washington's esteemed citizens." (Sec page 218). 

Mr. Miller of Minnesota: "Mr. Speaker, I would like to 
be recognized if I can gel the time." 

Mr. Mann : "The gentleman from Colorato has the time." 

Mr. Keating: "I will yield to the gentleman from Minne- 
sota." . . . 

The Speaker: "The gentleman from Minn etota (Mr. 
Miller) is recognized for ten minutes." 

Mr. Miller of Minnesota: "Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of 
the House, I feel justified in asking for ten minutes hy reason 
of the very deep interest that I personally feel in the case, hav- 
ing known General Steml>erg in his lifetime ; and having daring 
the past four or live years been pleased to make some investi- 
gations relative to the incidents ot the Civil War and the snbse- 



CONGRESSIOXAL RECOGNITION 301 

quent period. I have come to feel that this particular item is 
extraordinary and should receive the unanimous approval of 
the membership of the House. 

General Sternberg v^ras one of the giant figures of this 
century. Modest, unassuming, gentle in manner, as greatness 
always is, ever at work each year of his life, ever dedicated to 
the pubHc service, every atom of his wonderful brain and 
energy given to humanity. He never spoke of himself. His 
modesty precluded that but medical history and the military 
history of the last half century speak for him. He began his 
pubHc service, if I can use that term in connection with the 
career of a surgeon in the Army, at the very outbreak of the 
Civil War. A young man with exceptional attainments and a 
splendid college training, he entered the Union Army as a sur- 
geon and accompanied the Union forces to the disastrous field 
of Bull Run. He did not run from the field. He remained 
heroically and resolutely at his task. He stood on the field 
whence friends had fled, there where the Blue and Gray com- 
mingled lay upon the first great battle field of the Civil War, 
and he bound up the wounds of both alike (Applause). 

He was captured, of course, by the Confederates, and for a 
week, night and day, he used his talent and his energy to ease 
the pain, to relieve the suffering, and to save the boys of the 
North and South. He then exhibited that daring which subse- 
quently contributed to his great professional success. His 
parole expired and he made his escape from the prison camp, 
traveled 25 miles through the wilderness, swam the Potomac 
River, and the next day was ready for service here in 
Washington. 

Years afterward he presented the same characteristic for 
heroism and consecration to duty in many of the great Indian 
campaigns of the West, such that in one — perhaps the most 
notable that we have had — he was recommended for con- 
spicuous gallant r)' on the field under fire and advanced to 
brevet rank by reason of his service on that occasion. He 
rose to such a position in the Army medical service that Grover 
Cleveland, President of the United States, in 1893 made him 
Surgeon-General of the Army, and he immediately entered 
upon a reorganization of the service, its development being 
such that the present highly scientific spirit and splendid con- 
dition is the result. He occupied that important position for 
nearly ten years. 

But it is not so much his direct connection with the military 
branch of the Government that commends this case to me as it 
is the long and distinguished service he rendered to humanity. 
In 1871 yellow fever appeared on Governor's Island in New 
York Harbor. At that time familiarity with yellow fever was 
not general in the North and Dr. Sternberg was a pioneer in 



302 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

combating the yellow fever during that epidemic. His experi- 
ence gained at that time was valuable to him and to his coun- 
try, and he was soon thereafter regarded as an authority on 
the subject. 

In 1873, two years later, he again met this horrible plague in 
the South. Never once faltering, never once wavering, he 
knew his danger, but he battled and he won. for the plague was 
checked, the land freed of the scourge and countless lives saved 
by isolating the people, removing them to a healthy island. But 
he fell a victim to the horrible fever, in the third epidemic 
which he had faced at Fort Barrancas, ser\'ing on his field of 
duty. He almost passed away, but with impaired health he 
was saved for future work for his country. He had been 
studying yellow fever intimately and closely. He continued 
that work for a quarter of a centur>'. and performed those pre- 
liminary studies which narrowed the ' '-How fever 
and enabled science to get a grip upon \. case. Here 
came into play his leadership in the realm ui bacteriology, his 
trained mind, his extended exj)erience. 

During this period by scientific research he demonstrmted 
that the generally accepted theory of the celebrated bacteriolo- 
gist. Sanarelli. as to the cause of yellow fever was wrong, as 
were many other theories that ' * ' ed. and iO nar- 

rowed the field of necessary : : hit eyes were 

squarely ujKin the mosquito. 

After he became Surgeon-General of the Army, with the 
power at his command, he organized this Yellow Fever Com- 
mission and placed at their disposal the twenty-five years of his 
work ; and he had become known as not only the pioneer, but 
the greatest bacteriologist in America. 

In 1880. he made one of the greatest contributions to our 
medical science, which was thr 'ganism 

which is the cause of croupous ; liecame 

interested during the closing years oi his hte m a general 
organized movement throughout the countr>- to wipe out the 
cause of tuberculosis. He was one of the leaders in the .Ameri- 
can society in this regard, and to h\^ labors he contributed all 
of his talent and a large measure of his time. 

You may be interested to know that when the great Dr. 
Koch, of Ciermany. was here a few years ago he placed his 
hand ujwn the shoulder of General Sternberg and said: "Here 
is my brother in the work, one whom 1 admire among the men 
of the world." Well he might have said that, because in the 
very year that Dr. Koch discovered the tuberculosis badllus* 
General Sternberg demonstrated and photographed it. 

But as to his work in the yellow fever situation it seems to 
me an additional word might with propriety be said. He was 
the pioneer, the worker, the experienced man. His experi- 



CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION 303 

ence, his knowledge, and his genius selected the men for this 
commission which was to do so much for the world. He gave 
them their directions as to their work, and, as they say, he was 
their inspiration. 

The distinguished Dr. William H. Welch, of Johns Hopkins 
University, Baltimore, speaks of General Sternberg's work in 
the following extraordinary manner. 

*I was not only intimately acquainted personally with Gen- 
eral Sternberg, but I am familiar with the facts of his scientific 
and professional career and work. 

The position of leadership attained by General Sternberg 
not only in the Medical Corps of the Army but in the medical 
profession of this country attested by the important offices 
which he held, was based upon scientific and professional 
achievements of the highest order which brought him national 
and international fame. 

Dr. Sternberg was the pioneer worker in the modern science 
of bacteriolog)' in this country, and to this subject he has made 
contributions of great importance. He discovered the germ 
which causes lobar pneumonia and made valuable studies 
relating to this organism. He greatly advanced our knowledge, 
both from the scientific and the practical sides of disinfectants 
and disinfection. He published many valuable papers concern- 
ing infection and its problems, his Manual of Bacteriology, 
which appeared in 1892, being a comprehensive and authori- 
tative work. 

General Sternberg's researches upon yellow fever, extend- 
ing over a period of a quarter of a century, are of great 
importance and an essential part of that series of investiga- 
tions which led to the discovery of the mode of conveyance 
of this pestilence and the method of its prevention. With great 
zeal, industry, and skill he applied modern bacteriological 
methods to the search for the germ of yellow fever and to the 
claims arising from time to time as to its nature. This pains- 
taking work had to be done, and it was accomplished by Gen- 
eral Sternberg in a manner which laid satisfactory foundations 
for further studies. These further studies were conducted 
under his administration as Surgeon-General of the Army and 
by the so-called Army Yellow Fever Commission appointed by 
him or upon his recommendation. With the work of this com- 
mission he was in constant touch, and he welcomed the epoch- 
making results thereby attained as crowning the laborious 
series of investigations upon the same subject which had occu- 
pied his attention for so many years.' 

It is apparent from this bare mention of the few of the con- 
tributions of General Sternberg to medical science in the 



304 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

domain of preventive medicine that he rendered important 
services which deserve ample recognition by the Government of 
his country. 

The work of this Yellow Fever Commission is one of the 
great achievements in the world's history. The Southland is 
at last free from the scourge. Cuba has become a health 
spot. The work of that commission enabled us to build the 
Panama Canal. It has enabled us to clean up western South 
America and the Central American States, and the world is no 
lonjjcr subject to one of the greatest of plagues. 

The men of the Yellow Fever ( >n have aU gone but 

one, these men who solved the pr he man who or^^in- 

ized the Commission and was its inspinng genius and guide is 
the last to pass away. We have recognized merit and worth 
as we ou^ht to. If we do not, there is no meaning to republic, 
no meanmg to free government, no meaning to onineasttred 
generous service to humanity. We appropriately haTegiTcnto 
the widows of two of the men who were on tfiis commission 
$125 a month. One member of the commission is still living, a 
Cuban, Dr. Agramonte. M the gentleman from Colonulo 
(Mr. Keating) has said, he has recently testified to the work 
of General Sternberg in connection with the Ormmiwr Tfi 

Had General Sternberg devoted even a portion of his life- 
time to acquiring remuneration for his ser\ice>. he might have 
died a rich man. In my humble judgment he has contributed 
more for the well being of humanity than almost any other 
man I can name in the whole realm of medical science during 
the last half centur>'. It seems to me that a great — I do not 
mean to say generous, but I think I have a right to say a fairly 
considerate govemment will recognize the lifetime of service, 
the heroic devotion and the splendid achievements of this man 
and honor his memor)'. a memor>- that ought to be btcttcd and 
hallowed by ever)' man in the South. He has done more for 
you than any other living man. I believe you agree with roe 
that his widow, who is now in advanced years, ought to be 
able to live in reasonable comfort during the renaining period 
of her life, and the distinguished services of this noble man 
thereby in some degree recognized by an appreciative Govern- 
ment." 

Other business came up, but later the conference report was 
agreed to. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 

DEDICATION OF GENERAL STERNBERG'S MONUMENT 

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1919, at 3 : 30 p. m., a large number 
of friends of General Sternberg and the student officers of 
the Army Medical School assembled at the Arlington National 
Cemetery to participate in the exercises of the unveiling of 
the monument erected to his memory. A number of appro- 
priate addresses were delivered. Major-Gen. Merritte W. 
Ireland, Surgeon-General, U. S. Army, spoke of General 
Sternberg's accomplishments as Surgeon-General: 

GEORGE M. STERNBERG AS SURGEON-GENERAL 

We have met today to assist at the unveiling of a fitting 
monument to one of the most able and eminent of the Surgeon- 
Generals of the United States Army. In our Medical Corps, 
it is a matter of historical pride that each of the Surgeon- 
Generals has achieved something of importance in constructive 
administration in his day. Sternberg was one of the most 
remarkable of all. 

Of General Sternberg's army life and of his scientific work, 
others will speak. Briefly, he was the pioneer bacteriologist 
in this country, the man who first taught American physicians 
how to study and photograph organisms, who, himself, dis- 
covered the germ of pneumonia before Pasteur and described 
it before Frankel. and who cleared the ground and laid the 
foundation for Walter Reed's discovery of the mode of trans- 
mission of yellow fever. 

He was Surgeon-General of the United States Army during 
the last decade of the nineteenth century and the beginning 
of the twentieth centur\' (1893-1902). In these ten years 
Sternberg did more constructive work for the Medical Corps 
than any other preceding Surgeon-General. In his adminis- 
tration the Army Medical School, the dream of all the 
Surgeon-Generals since the Civil War, was finally established 
and made a going concern ; the Army Nurse Corps and the 
Dental Corps of the Army were established by acts of Con- 
gress, and the tuberculosis hospital at Fort Bayard, N. M., 
was established. All these were entirely new departures in 
military medicine and things which have become of extraordi- 
nar>' moment in the terrible war which we have just gone 
through. General Sternberg's activities during the Spanish 
War were of the same creative type. He established eight gen- 
eral hospitals, ordered the purchase and equipment of two 



306 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

hospital shi(» and a fully equipped hospital train, issued 
memorable circulars as to the danger of typhoid fever in 
camps, the role of flies in the transmission of disease and the 
importance of camp sanitataion and its prevention. At this 
time the prevention of typhoid fever was an almost insoluble 
jjroblem. The typhoid fever board, organized at General 
Sternberg's instance, consisted of Reed, \'aughan and Shake- 
speare, and gave us an entirely new point of view for the 
prevention of this disease. In connection with his own impor- 
tant researches in the causation of yellow fever, Sternberg 
organized the famous yellow- fever comnr •* 1900, with 

Major Walter Reed as chairman. Thi^ -ion discov- 

ered the transmission of yellow fever by the mosquito, which, 
more than anything else, made the construction of the Panama 
Canal jwssible. Other innovations made by General Sternberg 
will alwavs be memorable in the Medical Department of the 
Army. He was the first to encourage me<lioal officers to 
engage in scientific research through the establishment of lab- 
oratories and appxiintments in all the larger post hospitals. 
The brilliant record already made by the Medical Corps in the 
science of infectious diseases is the result. Instead of dis- 
charging soldiers for disabilities, curable by surj^ical treat- 
ment, which might render them life pensioners on the gov- 
eniment, he provided all new hospitals with well-equipped 
operating rooms and directed medical oflkers to operate in 
such cases. 

These are only a few of General Sternberg's achievements. 
We dedicate the monument, now unveiled, to the memory of 
this remarkable man, whose name is writ large in the military 
and scientific annals of this country. 

STERN BERc; THE MEDICAL OFFICER 

Brig -Gen. Walter I). McCaw. M. C, U. S. Army, sketched 
the early career of General Sternberg as a medical officer, or 
in the homely phrase of frontier days, a ** soldier doctor*': 

By our presence here today we are paying a tribute to the 
memor\' of Gen. C»eorge Miller Sternberg, which I conceive 
to be in a large measure personal rather than public — a tribute 
from some of us who knew this man as well as his work. 
We do not celebrate the unveiling of this monument which 
marks his last resting place with music and procession and loQf 
orations. The stone itself, as befits a militar>' tomb, is inscribed 
with a few sentences only, but in words that are pregnant 
with meaning to those that r id. It may be that at 

some future day a public mom : some kind may be dedi- 

cated to his memor>' in the presence of an appreciati\-e crowd 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 307 

of American citizens who will know the value to his country 
of General Sternberg's career, without probably having known 
him in life, but these modest ceremonies today mark the com- 
pletion of his personal monument and are fittingly celebrated 
by his personal friends. 

I shall not attempt to rehearse the scientific work of General 
Sternberg with which the world is familiar, but only wish to 
call attention to one side of his career, yet one on which I 
believe much of his success was based, and which illustrates 
a lesson to every medical man who desires to serve his coun- 
try in the military and naval services. 

General Sternberg was a plain medical officer, a "soldier 
doctor," as the frontier expression used to go, before he became 
a scientist and an administrator. He served in his junior 
grades with troops in battle. He coped with a cholera epi- 
demic in troops en route overland to the Far West. He was 
post surgeon and camp surgeon and performed the routine 
of his office, as we all have had to do — **the daily round, the 
common task" — without complaint, efficiently and to the satis- 
faction of his superiors. He must have had the potential 
mind of a scientist and the capacity for clear thinking, the 
tendency for social service and the tireless industry which 
marked his career throughout, and yet these first years of 
military service were not to my mind wasted, but, on the con- 
trary, formed a firm foundation for the many-sided activities 
of his later life when he rose to the first place in the Medical 
Department and to the highest grade in American science. 

The habits of obedience, self-reliance, and of doing things 
under adverse surroundings and with imperfect equipment are 
valuable qualifications for all men. They may be gained and 
are gained by every man worth his salt in military service, and 
he who has formed these habits is ready when opportunity 
knocks at the door. 

Opportunity came to General Sternberg ; he seized it, and the 
"soldier doctor" became the scientist and the administrator. 
His first policy as Surgeon-General, and on the whole, I 
believe, his greatest service to the Army, was the prompt pro- 
vision he made for the laboratory research at every military 
post in the country and the establishment of the Army Medi- 
cal School, which offered to every new officer a basic military- 
medical training. He gave to every medical officer an oppor- 
tunity to begin at least the study of the new and rapidly grow- 
ing sciences of bacteriology and preventive medicine. The 
results of his policy are now history, and have caused to be 
written the fairest pages in the annals of the Medical Corps. 



308 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

The lesson of his accomplishment is for our younger officers 
of the permanent establishment. No matter what the mental 
equipment and the technical training of the newly entered 
medical officer may be, unless he has had the humble and 
inconspicuous life of a "soldier doctor" with troops, caring for 
his men, learning the routine of Army custom. Army law and 
Army drudgery, he will be crippled seriously when time brings 
him high rank and great responsibility. He need never fear 
that opjxjrtunity will not occur. Talent and ability arc not 
so common as to make it at all probable that they will be 
overlooked. 

I have had it overwhelmingly impressed on me many times 
during the war, how large was our need for men with scien- 
tific knowledge indeed, but who also were trained soldiers and 
administrators. I have thanked God many times for those 
we had and for the Army Medical School, which General 
Sternberg inaugurated and which helped to form ihe*^ men 
into a small body of loyal, faithful and efficient public ser- 
vants — a body that assured success in our eflPoris. 

The great medical profession of the United States gave our 
men such care as no army has ever received. The treatment 
of sick and wounded, the prevention of disemse and even 
administration was in preponderating measure accomplished 
by men with little or no previous military' training, but our 
possession of a trained body of rr:: " ^' de 

It [x)ssible to coordinate effort and a ch 

the nation may well be proud and winch cmild not have Ijcen 
attained without such a body. We worked together with our 
companions from civil life as brothers, and as brothers we 
hovtc to live together in the future, in peace or in war. 

\\y impression of General Sternberg is preeminently that of 
a "useful ' man ; one who exemplified the best of our Amencan 
qualities — a desire to work for the common good in any way 
that suggests itself. Self-contained, clear thinking and indus- 
trious, he loved to help out, or as I heard him express it, "lend 
a hand." As a soldier, physician, scientific investigator, social 
worker in Washington, his life was marked by usetulness. 

All Jionor, then, to his memory, and may those of the 
younger generations who see this stone in future years be 
strengthened in their desire to serve the count r>' and the people 
honestly, efficiently and tirelessly as did the man who lies 
buried here. 

STERNBERG THE MAN 

Col. Edward L. Munson. M. C. L'. S. Army, dwi : '.'wc 
human qualities of General Sternberg: 

.\s the only member of General Sternberg's oflicia] family 
remaining on the active list, it has fallen to me to say a few 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 309 

words on the qualities that made him respected as an officer, 
honored as a chief and beloved as a friend. 

As the boy is father of the man, so the sterling qualities 
established in early life developed in General Sternberg the fru- 
ition of maturity. As a boy, the difficulties he encountered and 
overcame served to strengthen in him the qualities of inquiry, 
idealism and perseverance which brought about the achieve- 
ments of later Hfe. 

Bom in 1838, he received his early education at Hartwick 
Seminary, Otsego County, N. Y., a Lutheran institution, of 
which his father. Rev. Levi Sternberg, was president, and in 
which his maternal grandfather was a professor. In this 
academy, with its high ideals, strong religious influences and 
simplicity of living, his youth was passed. That here was 
laid his foundation of lofty purpose, of tireless industry, of 
right and justice, of human understanding and sympathy, and 
of reverent piety and practical Christianity, is undoubted. 
Reinforcing the academic influence was the home atmosphere 
and parental love, softening the austerities of the religious 
ideas of the day. Sprung from German stock which had been 
American for several generations, he had inherited the 
patriotism and traditions of ancestors who fought as soldiers 
in the Revolutionary War and had been high in the patriotic 
organizations of the time. 

At 16 years of age, the needs were such that he became 
self-supporting, and taught school at Germantown, N. J. Here 
the qualities of initiative, confidence and self-reliance were 
further stimulated by being charged with the direction and 
welfare of others. For three years he continued this work, 
building up his own character as he molded that of his pupils. 

Of scientific bent and that human sympathy which satisfied 
itself only in serving others, it was only natural that he should 
select a career in life which offered the best opportunity for the 
exercise of both qualities. This, the practice of medicine and 
surger>', he entered on at the age of 19 years, assisting in the 
office of Dr. Horace Lathrop of Cooperstown, N. Y., and 
graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 
New York in 1860. He immediately began the practice of his 
profession in Elizabeth, N. J. 

On the outbreak of the Civil War shortly after, the patriot- 
ism of General Sternberg made him one of the first to offer 
his ser\'ices to his country, and May 28, 1861, he was commis- 
sioned an assistant surgeon in the Army. There followed four 
years of war in which he shared the fortunes and honors of 
many campaigns and worthily carried responsibilities beyond 
his years. He learned to know men and human nature as a 
result of opportunities such as few enjoy. Then came decades 



310 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

of service against Indians on frontier stations and in the older 
settled districts, in which he learned his country by contact 
with its elements as he had learned to know its men. He 
learned, too, to make the most of opportunity, to rise above 
the temporary disappointments incident to the service and to 
appreciate that interruption merely delays and does not thwart 
purpose. With his scientific instinct, difficulty merely furnished 
further incentive to effort, and lesser duties, well performed, 
were made to ser\'e their purpose as stepping stones to higher 
things. Contact with the men of science whom he sought out 
gave him knowledge and incentive as he, on his part, served 
as an inspiration to them. In the honors which came to him he 
was still modest and unassuming. 

And so, in well-rounded personalitv and character and in 
vigorous maturity, he came to be chief of his corps. As such, 
the qualities he had developed came into official expression. 
The scientific spirit was aroused, professional ability was pfx>- 
moted. A just guiding han<l hrl{)rd the weaker, while it opened 
the door of opportunity to the ambitious and zealous A stroof 
man's ideals were tcmpcrecl by knowledge of human character 
and its weakness, and by a sym|>athy aln- its 

character. Faced with the greatest war pr '^- 

tion, he lx)re without reply the burden ot i 

which were unfounded or due to faults not i..^ 

others he would not do that which he would not do for him- 
self, and lest he l>r led away by preference or prejudice, he 
almost leaned backward in his sense of justice 

For all this, we of his staff, who knew acuities 

and successes best, admired and loved htn. » lorever 

cherish his memory. 

STERNBERG THE SCIENTIs 

Col. Frederick F. Russell. M. C, U. S. Army, rehearsed the 
attainments of General Sternberg in thr tlrl.! ..f x.Mrnrr 

I feel deeply how great an honor it is, t' ik- j»trnuttc<i t«» auu 
something to what has already bren ^id about our former 
chief. When I entered the Mc T^" 

General, and the memor>- of the listinct 

and clear in my mind. Three of us. AshlHim, Pinkham and I, 
had just passed the ordeal of an .\rmy examination board, and 
the recorder of the board, Colonel Munson. escorted us to the 
office of the Surgeon -General and presented us to General 
Sternberg, Colonel .\lden and Colonel Smart. One of the 
three. Dr. Pinkham. knew the general more intimately than 
Ashburn and I. and he asked to be sent to Manila, and abo 
that he miglit be furnished with one of the general's unit 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 311 

laboratory outfits, which were at that time put up in packing 
cases in the depots, ready to be given to such members of the 
Medical Corps as were interested in the pursuit of bacteriology 
and sanitary chemistry. This led to a technical and intimate 
conversation regarding the variety of tropical diseases to be 
encountered there in Manila, and the desirability and need of 
accurate laboratory investigation of them. From my first day 
in the Corps, therefore, I knew that we had a chief who was 
an authoritative judge of the problems of preventive medicine 
in its broadest aspect. As time went on I learned more of his 
scientific work, and soon came to a realization and appreciation 
of the fact that in General Sternberg the Army and the coun- 
try possessed a great contributor to scientific knowledge; and 
it is interesting to know that all his important contributions 
stand today, as true as when the work left his hands. General 
Sternberg was a contributor to our knowledge of medicine and 
biology in the true and best sense of the word. Not only have 
his statements of the results stood the test of time, but also 
his principles and in some cases his methods are still in use. 

The work of the pioneer is often rough and crude, yet that 
cannot be said of the work of General Sternberg. He was a 
pioneer in bacteriolog>' in this country, and by careful reading 
and laborious experimentation he perfected methods and 
gained a satisfactory technic in bacteriology under most 
inauspicious circumstances. He was actively engaged in a 
general practice as an Army surgeon, often at isolated and 
detached posts, with frequent changes of station, yet, never- 
theless, he continued his work and completed the solution 
of his problems in spite of the disadvantages under which he 
labored. 

Those who knew and who worked with him in those days 
testify to his enthusiasm, his faith in his work and his untiring 
energy. Those who are bacteriologists will realize how perfect 
and reliable must have been his methods and the details of his 
technic to have permitted him to carry on his researches from 
year to year, at a time when he was almost alone in this coun- 
try in this branch of medicine. Professor Abbott of Philadel- 
phia has stated that he obtained his first knowledge of bac- 
teriology from General Sternberg, and at that time there was 
none other in the United States capable of teaching it. 

The soundness of General Sternberg's work as a bacteriolo- 
gist can be judged more readily from three things: (1) his 
work on disinfectants; (2) on the thermal death point of bac- 
teria, and (3) his investigation of yellow fever. Our elaborate 
methods of testing the value of disinfectants and antiseptics 



312 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

all date from his early work which was done under the 
auspices of the American Public Health Association and was 
published as the Lomb prize essay. It is difficult for us, at 
this time, to imagine the confusion surrounding the subject of 
disinfection. Then no one had any valid proof of the differ- 
ential value of those agents, and one man's work was as good 
as another's. General Sternberg was the first one to bring order 
out of chaos, and little has been done since his time except 
to add refinements of technic. His work on the thermal death 
[K>int of bacteria stands today almost exactly as it left his 
hands, and in our daily work we still use the ingenious methods 
he elaborated. 

In his long and active life he made many other contributioos 
to our knowledge, and one of the most interesting relates to 
his di.scovery of the micrococcus of pneumofiia« or as he at 
first called it, the micrococcus of sputum septicemia. He dem- 
onstrated, in the sputum of normal healthy persons, by means 
of animal inoculations, the presence of an encapsulated, gram- 
positive micrococcus, and showed that it was capable of causing 
a fatal septicemia in rabbits and mice. He cultivated the organ- 
ism and descril)cd its cultural and biologic characteristics. Uc 
did not, however. asscKiate it with any disease p fOC fcJS in 
human Innings ; that remained to be dooe several years later by 
Frankcl. It has sometimes seemed to me that perhaps a lesson 
might be drawn from this experience which would be of value 
to us today. It should be remembered that in 1880, when 
Sternberg discovered the micrococcus of pneumonia, the whole 
United States Army consisted of less than 25,000 persons, 
less than one ilivision of our Army today, and that these men 
were scattered in small groups over the whole United Sutes, 
and that it did not fall to the lot of any single army surgeon 
to have very much clinical material to investigate. It is rea- 
sonable to suppose that had he had the clinical opportunities 
which Frankel had. or which we now have in our larger army 
hospitals, the ci" of the history of his micrococcus 

would not have K >ed so long. The lesson for us is to 

arrange our work so that every medical officer will have, to 
the greatest possible extent, intimate and continuous contact 
with clinical and pathologic material during the greater part 
of his service in the corps. 

The other subject with which General Sternberg's name 
will be al\%'ays associated is yellow fever. He was the 
surpeon at Fort Columbus, Governor's Island. New York 
Harbor, in 1871, during an outbreak of >-ellow fever, and later 
because of his familiarity with the disease was sent to the Gulf 
Coast, where he passed through several epidemics of the dis- 
ease, finallv contracting it himself. His first scientific paper of 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 313 

importance deals with the cUnical aspects of cases of yellow 
fever. His interest in the subject never flagged and he added, 
gradually, pathologic and bacteriologic studies to the clinical. 
When there was no longer any case of yellow fever in the 
United States for study, he went to Havana and other tropical 
ports where the disease was endemic, and there made careful 
and complete studies of its bacteriology and pathology. He 
followed to its end one clue after another, and was so familiar 
with the entire question of the etiology that he was able to dis- 
prove, time and again, the claims of Freire of Brazil, of Finlay 
of Havana and of Sanarelli and many others that they had dis- 
covered the causative organism. Time has shown the truth 
and justice of all his statements. The history of yellow fever 
has now, after almost fifty years' work, been completed with 
the discovery of its cause by Dr. Noguchi. 

It is more than merely interesting to trace the steps of the 
work: It started with General Sternberg in 1871 ; he exhausted 
all the possibilities there were, using the methods of investi- 
gation then known, and finally took the position that the organ- 
ism must be ultramicroscopic. After he became Surgeon- 
General, in 1893, it was no longer possible for him to conduct 
his researches in person, yet his interest never abated, and 
when, in 1900, the disease again became a menace to our Army, 
he organized a yellow-fever commission and placed Walter 
Reed at its head. The commission demonstrated conclusively 
and for all time the method of transmission of the disease by 
mosquitoes. This investigation stands as one of the most bril- 
liant ever made in medicine. The third step followed directly 
and consisted in the application, by General Gorgas, of the 
principles discovered by Reed's commission to the condition 
existing in Havana. This step was also brilliantly successful, 
and led to the complete eradication of the yellow plague, first 
from Havana, and later from most other Gulf ports, including 
Colon and Panama on the Isthmus. The fourth and last step has 
been taken so recently that all may not be aware of it. A 
yellow- fever commission, of which General Gorgas is the head, 
was organized by the International Health Board of the Rocke- 
feller Foundation, and this commission sent Dr. Noguchi to 
Guayaquil to study the etiology of the disease. He was also 
successful and demonstrated an organism, which he christened 
the Leptospira icteroides, as the cause of yellow fever. He 
has reproduced the disease in animals and has developed a 
vaccine for prophylactic use and a curative serum for thera- 
peutic use. 

So we may now agree that the story of yellow fever is con- 
cluded, and we can see the definite separation of the story 
into four chapters, the title, the theme, and the opening one 



314 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

being written by General Sternberg, and the other being writ- 
ten by a direct line of three others, Reed and Gorgas having 
worked under Sternberg and Xoguchi under Gorgas. I can 
think of no other disease whose whole history, from the begin- 
ning to the end of its serious investigation, has been written 
by a single small and closely connected group in America, 
without a single contribution of value from any one else. It 
seems as though the inifjctus which General Sternberg gave 
the investigation was sufficient to inspire each of his successors 
in turn tf) • vn..ivvftil • ^>nsummat<' <' •♦' '''- "^ " ♦■»•-'••-• 'lar 
problem. 

In lookinj; back uvcr Uie history ol • orps, it is 

evident that the appointment of (»ei. .rg to the 

Surgeon-Cicncralcy in 1S93 marks an epoch. \\ ith him came 
the new medical and new scientific knowledge. As a true sci- 
entist he Ijelieved in applying the experimental method to the 
art of medicine, antllx-' ^ to our knowl- 

edge himself, he made arr)' on inves- 

tigations also. He estabhshed the Army Medical School in 
1893, built and rebuilt many of our army hospitals and included 
in the plans rooms for laboratories and better operating roonift. 
And from that time it has 1 medical officer 

in the Army to improve hi: and the art of 

medicine and surgery. 

Any one would be justtiied in stating that the renaissance 
of scientific medicine in the Army dates from the beginning of 
his admini.stration. 

STERN BEKG THE PIIILj\NTH10PIST 

General Sternberg's philanthropic works were recounted by 
Dr. George M. Kober: 

We had hoped that Prof. William H. Welch would be pres- 
ent to speak of Dr. Sternberg's scientific work. The following 
letter explains his absence: 

"It is with extreme regret that I find myself unable to be 
present at the unveiling of the General Sternberg memorial, 
Wednesday. November 5. There is an important meeting on 
that afternoon at our school of h>-giene and public heUth 
which I must attend. I hope that Mrs. Sternberg and others 
will understand that no ordinar)- circumstances would prexent 
me from paying my tribute of respect to General Sternberg, to 
whom I was greatly attached and whose memory I revere." 

Dr. Welch's appreciation of Gt > scientiftc 

work is beautifully expressed in the , , inonument, 

which he indited in association with other medical ollkers of 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 315 

the Army.^ But like the great and good man that Dr. Welch is, 
he gladdened the evening of Dr. Sternberg's life, as shown by 
the following extracts from a letter dated April 13, 1910: 

"I regard you as the real pioneer of modern bacteriologic 
work in this country, and I have always admired the way in 
which you mastered the technic and the literature of the sub- 
ject and made yourself an important contributor to the devel- 
opment of the new science by sheer perseverance and native 
ability under circumstances which would have discouraged one 
of less force and aptitude for the study of nature." 

Admiral Stitt of the U. S. Naval Medical School writes: 
"As must be true of all other workers in bacteriology, I con- 
sider Dr. Sternberg's as the greatest name in American 
bacteriology." 

Prof. W. T. Councilman of Harvard Medical School writes 
under date of October 28: "It is fitting that the life and work 
of General Sternberg should be written and the greatness of 
the man and his work be made fully known. It was an arduous 
life directed by noble purpose. 

It was my fortune to be closely associated with him for a 
number of years, and during this time I learned to have deep 
respect and admiration for him, together with a warm per- 
sonal feeling of fondness. He was a most tireless investiga- 
tor, shrinking from no difficulty which presented itself and 
never thinking of privation. He has left the record of a noble 
life and his work has brought truth nearer to man." 

Dr. Sternberg was not only a great scientist; he was also a 
philanthropist in the fullest and most beautiful meaning of the 
word. A review of his scientific work shows that he always 
sought the application of science to the amelioration of human 
ills. His first imi)ortant work in bacteriology was on disinfec- 
tants and disinfection as a means of preventing the so-called 
germ diseases, a work of incalculable value to mankind. He 
never lost an opportunity to impress on the profession and the 
public that the eradication of preventable diseases is the high- 
est aim of scientific medicine. 

1. Pioneer American Bacteriologist. Distinguished by his studies 
of the causation and prevention of infectious diseases, by his discovery 
of the microorganism causing pneumonia, and scientific investigations 
of yellow fever, which paved the way for the experimental demon- 
stration of the mode of transmission of this pestilence. 

Veteran of three wars, Brevetted for bravery in action in the Civil 
War and Nez Perces War. Served as Surgeon-General of the U. S. 
Army for a period of nine years, including the Spanish War. Founder 
of the Army Medical School. Scientist, Author and Philanthropist, 
^^.D.. LL.D.' 



316 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

It was not possible for a man of Dr. Sternberg's humani- 
tarian attributes to rest content with the scientific knowledge 
that polluted water and impure milk are potent factors in the 
spread of typhoid fever and that insanitary houses and low 
standards of living are largely responsible for the prevalence 
of tulx;rculosis, but he must make practical application of 
this knowledge. 

We therefore found him in the front rank and as a leader 
in the cam(>aign for pure water and milk, removal of sltum 
and the erection of sanitary homes in the National Ca|>itaL 
As a result of Ii' • " '- the Washington santtsry bousisMroofiH 
panies were oi which have provided health fnl nonet 

at reasonable rates for over 800 wage earners and their fami- 
lies. The success of this enterprise led to a reproduction of 
these houses on even a larger scale in this and other cities, and 
secured for him a gold medal at the International Elxpositioo 
held in Paris in 1900. 

Dr. Steml)crg fully appreciated that the health of a com- 
munity dci)cnds in a large degree on the efftciency of the 
health officer, and when in 1900 there was danger of a chanfe 
in the administration of that office, he enlisted the support of 
President McKinley in keeping the "right man in the right 
place." He was also ever helpful in securing additional appro- 
priations for the maintenance of an efficient health service. All 
of this was done while he held the {>osition of Surj^eon -General. 
When, in June, 1902, he retired from his oflfKial position, 
instead of taking his ease, he remained a scientist, a practical 
worker and a tighter in the first ranks against disease and 
poverty. 

Having been the first in America to demonstrate the tubercle 
bacillus discovered by Koch, in 1881, and familiar with the 
cause and prevention of tuberculosis, it was natural that he 
should labor long and faithfully in the campaign against this 
disease. He was a charter member of the National A st o ci a tk m 
and president of the local Society for the Study and P r e veD" 
tion of Tuberculosis. During this time he was the leader of a 
great eilucational campaign : he established several dispensarict* 
urged the erection of the municipal hospital for indifUit 
patients and aK 'ished a sanatorium for the middle-ciatt 

victims of this He was also instrumental in securing 

the enactment ot a law providing for the condemnation of 
houses untit for human habitataion, and the compulsory rcfit- 
tration of tuberculous patients. 

The influence of his beneficent work is shown hy the fact 
that the tuberculosis death rate in this city has been reduced 
among the colored population from 492 per 100,000 in 1900, to 
312 in 1917. and the death rate among the white population 
from 188 in 1900, to 93 in 1917. 



DEDICATION OF MONUMENT 317 

In 1907 he was chairman of President Roosevelt's homes 
commission, which submitted a report of lasting value in mat- 
ters relating to housing, social and industrial betterment. Dr. 
Sternberg was also a member of the committee on organization 
of the International Congress on Tuberculosis held in Wash- 
ington, in 1908, and of the Fifteenth International Congress on 
Hygiene, Sept. 16-Oct. 5, 1912. 

He worked assiduously with all organizations striving for 
the establishment of higher standards of living so that the 
physical development of the nation may be more perfect, life 
more vigorous, decay less rapid and death more remote. Dr. 
Sternberg had lived a lifetime of service to his fellow men, as 
shown by his scientific and practical contributions to preventive 
medicine, his participation in the eradication of preventable dis- 
ease and his kindly ministration to the sick and distressed. In 
all these activities his only protest against cares was silence. 
Dignity met his responsibilities, humility and equanimity his 
successes and disappointments. He leaves a memory of patriot- 
ism and good citizenship, a memory of brotherly love and good 
deeds. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE M. STERNBERG 

{Prepared by Mr. Gary R. Sage, Library of the Surgeon-General's Office, 
Washington, D. C.) 

— 1875 — 

An Inquiry Into the Modus Operandi of the Yellow Fever Poison, 
New Orleans M. & S. J. (n. s.) 3:1-23 (July) 1875. 

Observations upon the Urine in Yellow Fever, New Orleans M. & S. T. 
(n. s.) 1:197-202, 1875. 

— 1877 — 

A Study of the Natural History of Yellow Fever and Some Remarks 
upon the Treatment Based upon the Same; with Cases and Tables 
of Observations upon the Temperature and Urine, New Orleans M. 
& S. J. (n. s.) 4:638-674, 1877. 

— 1879- 

On Yellow Fever (Abstr.), Tr. Epidemiol. Soc. Lond. 4:39-52, 1879. 

Photomicrographs, Washington, 1879. 

The Public Health Association and Yellow Fever, Med. Rec. 15:45, 

1879. 
Experiments Designed to Test the Value of Certain Gaseous and 

Volatile Disinfectants, National Bd. Health Bull. 1:219, 227, 287, 

365, 1879. 
Preliminary Report of the Havana Yellow Fever Commission of the 

National Board of Health, Submitted Nov. 18, 1879 (with 

S. E. Chaille), National Bd. Health Bull. 1: Suppl. No. 1, 1-19, 

1879. 

— 1880 — 

The Microscopical Investigations of the Havana Yellow Fever Com- 
mission. New Orleans M. & S. J. (n. s.) 7:1017-1024 (May) 1880; 
Proc. Am. Assn. Advance. Sc. 29:381-386, 1881. 

The Diagnosis of Yellow Fever; Yellow Fever and Quarantine, New 
Orleans, L. Graham & Son, 1880. 

Report of Microscopical Examination of Suspended Particles Found 
in the Atmosphere, National Bd. Health Rep. 2:387-396, 1880. 

Yellow Fever and Quarantine, Am. Pub. Health Ass. Rep. 6:351-357, 
1880. 

Reports in Regard to a Form of Fever Recently Prevailing on the 
Lower Mississippi River (with J. Dickson Bruns and John P. 
Davidson), New Orleans M. & S. J. 8:382-398, 1880. 

A Letter, New Orleans M. & S. J. (n. s.) 8:482-487, 1880. 

— 1881 — 

A Prediction Verified, Phila. M. Times 11:592, 1881. 

A Fatal Form of Septicaemia in the Rabbit, Produced by the Sub- 
cutaneous Injection of Human Saliva, National Bd. Health Bull. 
2:781-783. 1881; National Bd. Health Rep. 3:87-92, 1881; Johns 
Hopkins Univ. Stud. Biol. Lab. 2:183-200, 1882; Tr. Med. & Chir. 
Fac. Marjland 83:210-219, 1881. 



320 GEORGE M. STERSBERG 

Bacillus Anthracis. Am. Month. Micr. J. 1:148 (August) 1881. 

Fiebre amarilla ; informe preliminar que a nombre de la cocnision 
americana para el estudio de la fiebre amarilla ban presentado el 
18 de noviembre de 1879 al Consejo Nacional de sanidad de lo« 
Estados Unidos (with S. £. Chaille). Bol. de med. nav^ San 
Fernando 1:225. 258. 277, 1880; 4:53. 77. 137, 169. 219. 245. 1881. 

An Instructive. Experiment, Med. Rec. 19:339. 1881. 

What is the Explanation of the Protection from Subsequent Attacks 
Resulting from an .Attack of Certain Diseases, and of the Pro- 
tective Influence of Vaccination against Smallpox? Am. J. M. Sc 
81:373-378. 1881. 

Yellow Fever. Cycl. Pract. Med. (Ziemsseti) SuppU 45-73. 1881. 

Experimental Investigations Relating to the Etiology of the Malarial 
Fevers. National Ed. Health Bull S: Suppl. No. 14. Ml. 1881; 
National Rrl Health Rep. l:(i5-86. 1881. 

-1882- 

Experiments with Disinfectants. National Ed. Health Enll. 8:21. 68. 
1881; Johns Hopkins Univ. Stud Biol. Ub. 1:201-212. 1882. 

Bacteria and the Germ Theory of Disease. Tr. M. Soc. Calif. U:19J- 
198. 1882. 

Bacterial Organisms. Western Lancet 11:198-203. 1882. 

A Contribution to the Study of the Bacterial Organisms Comnwi y 
Found on Expt^sed Mucous Surfaces and in t*-- *'— ^tmry Caaal 
of Healthy Individuals. Johns Hopkins L'niN .oL LaK. 1: 

157-181. 1882; Proc. Am. Assn. Advance. Sc. M.cv>-^. 1882; French 
translation: J. de microgr. 7:129-140. 1883. 

Induced Septicaemia in the Rabbit. Am. J. M. Sc. 84:69-76. 1882. 

Is Tul>erculosis a Parasitic Disease? Med. Newt 41:6. 87. 311. 564. 
730. 1882. 

The Recognition of Micrococci. Med. Rec. 11:368-370. 11:429. 1881 

The Value of Carbolic Acid as a Germicide as Established by Experi- 
mental Data. Med. Rec. 11:314-317. 188^ 

Virulence of Normal Human Saliva. Phila. M. Times ll:8J6-&)9. U: 
80-82. 1881; Med. News 41:332-334. 18S2. 

Malaria. Sanit. Engin. 7:126. 147. 172. 1882. 

-1883 — 

Experiments to Determine the Germicide Value of Certain Therapeutic 

Agents. Am. J. M. Sc. 81:321-343. 1883. 
The Micrococcus of Gonorrheal Pus. Med. News 41:67. 96. I2i. 1881 
Photomicrographs and How to Make Them. Bottos, J. R. Oscood ft 

Co.. 1883. 

— 1884 — 

Malaria. Am. Pub. Health Ass. Rep. 1:31-54. 1883; Med. Rec M: 

253. 281. 18W. 
Bacteria. New York. William Wo<xl and Co., 1884. 
Further Experiments with the Micrococcus of GocKMrhcal Put. 

coccus*' of Neisser. Med. News a:426-429. 18M. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 321 

Malaria and Malarial Diseases, New York, William Wood and Co., 
1884. 

Disease Germs, Am. Pub. Health Ass. Rep. 10:69-78, 1884; Med. Rec. 
26:451-455. 1884. 

— 1885 — 

American Public Health Association. Preliminary Report on Disin- 
fection and Disinfectants made by the Committee on Disinfectants 
(April), 1885. 

Commercial Disinfectants, Med. News 46:144-147, 1885. 

The Comparative Antiseptic Value of the Salts and Oxides of Mer- 
cury, Med. News 47:287, 1885. 

The Destruction of Cholera Germs, in A Treatise on Asiatic Cholera. 
edited by E. C. Wendt, New York, 1885, pp. 325-335. 

Disinfectants, the Metallic Sulphates, Med. News 47:204, 1885. 

The Germicide Power of Potassium Permanganate, Med. News 46: 
30-35, 1885. 

Injection of Finely Powdered Inorganic Material Into the Abdominal 
Cavity of Rabbits Does Not Induce Tuberculosis ; an Experimental 
Research, with Pathological Notes by W. T. Councilman, Am. J. 
M. Sc. (n. s.) 89:17-30. 1885. 

Poisonous Cheese, Board Health Mich. Rep. 13:218-220. 1885. 

The Pneumonia Coccus of Friedlander (Micrococcus Pasteuri, Stern- 
berg), Am. J. M. S^c. (n. s.) 90:106-123, 435-438, 1885; also appen- 
dix to See, Germain : Diseases of the Lungs, New York, 1885. 

Practical Experiments on the Sterilization of Feces, Med. News 47: 
368. 1885. 

Reply to Dr. Duggan, Med. Rec. 28:643, 1885. 

What Is the Explanation of Acquired Immunity from Infectious Dis- 
eases? Lancet 1:655, 696, 1885. 

-1886 — 

Disintecti'tn and Individual Prophylaxis Against Infectious Diseases, 
Concord. N. H.. 1886; Am. Pub. Health Assn. Pub. Health, The 
Lomb Prize Essays. 1886. pp. 99-136; Rep. Board Health Calif., 
Sacramento 9:241-270, 1884-86; German Translation, 1886; Danish 
Translation, Biblioth. f. Laeger 17:185-242, 1887; Portuguese 
Translation, Rio de Janeiro, Laemert & Co., 1889. Revised in 
December, 1899, Columbus, Ohio. Berlin Printing Company, 1900. 

The Bacillus of Typhoid Fever (Typhus Bacillus of Eberth), Med. 
News 49:197-202, 1886. 

Bacteriological Notes, Med. News 48:678, 706, 1886. 

Inoculation Experiments with Rabies Virus at Baltimore, Med. News 
48:675. 1886. 

The Malarial "Germ" of Laveran, Science 7:297-299, 1886; Med. Rec. 
29:489. 517, 1886. 

Micrococcus Pasteuri, Am. J. M. Sc. (n. s.) 92:123-131, 1886; J. Roy. 
Microsc. Soc. (2d s.) 6:391-396, 1886. 

Pasteur's Method for the Prevention of Hydrophobia, Med. News 48: 
449-453, 1886. 



322 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

-1887- 

Amcrican Public Health Association. Fifteenth Annual Meeting: The 

Annual Address. Med. News f 1:557-561. 585-589. 1887; .\m. Pub. 

Health Assn. Rep. 11:1-21, 1887. 
American Public Health Association. Commtttee on Disinfectants. 

1887: Report of the Chairman of the Committee, Am. Pub. Health 

Assn. Rep. 1S:64-201. 1887. 
The Bacillus of Typhoid Fever. Med. News M:482-486 (April 30) 

1887. 
The Liquefaction of Gelatine by Bacteria, Med. News M:372. 1887. 
Der Micrococcus der Sputumsepticaemie (M. Pasteuri, Sternberg), 

Deutsche med. Wchnschr. IS: 44. 1887. 
The President's Address. Am. Pub. Health Ass. Rep. U:l-21, 1887. 
The Thermal Death-Point of Pathogenic Organisms. Am. J. M. Sc 

(n. s.) 94:146-1(10, 1887. 

-1888- 

Fiebre amarilla : comunicacion i la Academia, Rev. de cicn. mM. 

Habana. No. 40. 10, 1888. 
Investigations Relating to the Etiology aod Prophylajus of Yellow 

Fever. Tr. Coll. Phys. Philadelphia (3d t.) It: 33906S, 1888; alMt. 

Med. News 88:449-456. 1888. 
Investigacioncs sobre ficbre amarilla. An. r. Acad, dc cicn. mM. de la 

Habana 15:59-63. 1888; Cr6nica mM.-quirurg. de la Habana 14: 

3J5-337. 188a 
Preliminary Note on a New Method of Treating Yellow Fercr. 

Therap. Gax. (3d s) 4:524-525. 188& 
Recent Researches Relating to the Etiology of Yellow Fever. Tr. Asa. 

Am. Physicians 8:321-329. 1888; abst. J. A. M. .V U:771-773. 1889; 

Am. Pub. Health Ass. Rep. 18:170>172. 1889. 

-1889- 

Additional Note on the Treatment of Yellow Ferer. Therap. (jaa. 
(3d s.) 8:388. 1889. 

Bacillus Diphtheriae (Loeffler). BriH>klyn M. J. 8:145-1S3. 1889. 

Bicarbonate of Sodium and Bichloride of V-' ••'• -n the Tr eatm e n t 
of Yellow Fever. Therap. Gai. (3d s.) : 1889. 

The Treatment of Yellow Fever with J^^dJinr. iMv.irnooate asid Mer- 
curic Chloride. Johns Hopkins Hosp Bull. 1:68. 1889. 

The Etiology of Croupous Pneumonia. Med. Rec. 88:281. 309, 1889; 
Uncet 1:370. 420. 474. 1889; Tr. M. Sc<. New York. 53-80. 1889; 
National M. Rev, 7:175-177. 1898; J. Pract. Med. 8:306. 1898. 

Hunting Yellow Fever Germs. Med. News 84:2S3-256. 1889; Proc 
Quarant. Confer.. 90-102, 188Q. 

Reptirt on the Prevention of Yellow Fever by Inoculation. Made m 
Compliance with Instructions from the President oi cd 

States, and in .Accordance with an .Act of 0>ngress Pr . :or 

the Civil Expenses of the (iovemment for the Year EnUtng Juae 
30. 1888. Submitted in March. 1888. Rep. Super>-. Surg.-Gen. Marine 
Hosp. Ser>ice. US-Ln \S»). 

Etiologia de la fiebre amarilla. .\n. r. Acad, de cicn. nM. de la 
Habana U:Z27-2M). 1889-1890. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 323 

— 1890 — 

Dr. Freire's Protective Inoculation: Facts Versus Figures, Med Rec. 
37:524-526, 1890. 

Cocoanut-Water as a Culture Fluid, Aled. News 57:262, 1890. 
Facts Versus Figures, Yellow Fever Inoculation, T. A. M. A. 15:142- 
144, 1890. 

Report on the Etiology and Prevention of Yellow Fever, Washington, 
1890. 

Report on the Sanitation of Ships and Quarantine. Prepared by the 
Supervising Surgeon-General, U. S. Marine Hospital Service (with 
John B. Hamilton, Surg-Gen.), Rep. U. S. Marine Hosp. Service 
18:85-95. 1890. Sen. Exec. Doc. 121, 51st Cong., 1st Sess. 

Bacteriological Researches in Yellow Fever, Tr. New York Acad. M. 
(2d s.) 7:313-316, 1890. 

— 1891 — 

The Disinfection of Excreta, J. A. M. A. 17:290-294, 1891. 
Dr. Finlay's Mosquito Inoculations, Am. J. M. Sc. (n. s.) 102:627- 
630. 1891. 

Disinfection, in Hare's System of Practical Therapeutics, 1:573-598, 
1891. 

— 1892 — 

The Biological Characters of the Cholera Spirillum — Spirillum Cholerae 

Asiaticae (Comma Bacillus of Koch) — and Disinfection in Cholera, 

Med. Rec. 42:387-391. 1892. 
Infectious Diseases, Causation and Immunity, Popular Sc. Month. 41: 

616-635. 1892. 
Micrococcus Pneumoniae Crouposae. Med. News 60:153, 1892; Lancet 

1:682. 1892; Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk. 12:53-56, 1892. 
Practical Results of Bacteriological Researches, Am. J. M. Sc. (n. s.) 

104:1-15. 1892. 
Protective Inoculations in Infectious Diseases, Tr. Am. Pub. Health 

Assn. 18:273-291, 1892; Boston M. & S. J. 128:29, 56, 1893. 

— 1893 — 

A Manual of Bacteriology, New York, Wm. Wood and Company, 1893. 

Address to Members of Pan-American Medical Congress, J. A. M. A. 

21:369-375, 1893. 
Disinfection at Quarantine Stations, Especially Against Cholera, New 

York M. J. 57:57-62, 1893. 
Bacteriological Report on Cholera, Am. J. M. Sc. 105:388-393 (April) 

1893. 
How Can We Prevent Cholera? Med. Leg. J. 11:1-8, 1893. 

— 1894 — 

The Action of Sunlight on Micro-Organisms (with J. T. Dezendorf), 

Med. Rec. 46:607, 1894. 
The Bacteriology of Pyelonephritis, Am. J. M. Sc. (n. s.) 107:664-669, 

1894: Tr. Cong. Am. Phys. & Surg. 3:172-181, 1894. 



324 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

— 1895- 

Explanation of Acquired Immunity from iniccti< u* Diseases, Science 
(n. ».) 1:346-349. 1895. 

Immunity, Protective Inoculations in Infectious Diseases and Serum- 
Therapy. New York. \Vm. Wood and Company, 1895. 

Introductory Address Delivered September 30 at the College Building. 
Georgetown rnivrr«>ltv District < f Columbia. J. A. Vf. A. 1S:669- 
6%, 1895 

The Proofs m i i'>ki«^^"^^. -»»t>j. ixw. -Ib.j-iS-SU, 1895. 

Report of Immunity Against Vaccination Conferred on the Monkey by 
the Use of the Serum of the V . ' Calf and Monkey (with 

Walter Reed), Tr. Assn. .\m ^ ti:57-^. 1895. 

President's Address, Association of MiliUry Surgeons. Proc Atm. 
Mil. Surg. U. S. 1:8-22, 1895. 

-1896 — 

The Practical Results of Bacteriological Retearcbes. Popolmr Sc 
Month. 48:735-750, 1896. 

The Etiology and Classification of Infections Diiea»ct. Am. J. M. Sc 
(n. s.) 111:649-667. 1896. 

The History and Geographical Distrtbntion of Yelk)w Fever. Janos 
1:195-201, 1896. 

Pasteur, Science (n. s.) t: 185-189, 1896. 

Scientific Researches Relating to the Speci6c Infections Agent of 
Smallpox and the Production of Artificial Immunity from Thii 
Disease. J. A. X!. A l«:*^l«*-«8. 1896; Gcnnan TransUtioo: 
Ccniralbl. L ' ' * 1 Abt. If :805. 857. 1896. 

A TexilKwk of i «y. New York. Wm Wnod and Company. 

1896; Second Kcv.scd Edit Wood and Com- 

pany. 1901. 

— 1 .- •' : 

The Malarial I'.iraMie and Otl.r: lat;, i^r: : : : at Sc. 

Month. «0:(.J8-<>41. 18^^: 
The Bacillus Icteroides t* : . ..> X . \v J 

M. Sc. (n. s.) tU:Mh , ..• r:.i:^:\: 

f. Bakteriol. 1 Abt. ll:U5-lu>. > ~ 
Etiologia da febre amarella, Bra/il racu. 11 
Preventive Medicine. Sanitarian IS: 193. 1897 
Recent Researches Relating to the Etiology and bpoitnc i: 

Yellow Fever, .^m. Pub. Health Assn. Rep. 11:436-442. 

News 71:613-618, 18^7. 
The Bacillus Icteroides ot Sanarelli. Comptei-rendui I2e Coof. imerant 

de mW. 1:120-137. 1897. 
Yellow K"« -»• '" ^ .^,^Mvt• \ <• . ' Pra^iL-al Xfrduitu, 1:267-J0Ql 

— i ^ vy j\ — 

The Ftiolrsy and Geographic Distribution of Infcctioos D it€ i tet > Po^ 
Month. 11:289-304. 1898, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 325 

The Address of the President Delivered at the Forty-Ninth Annual 

Meeting of the American Medical Association, held at Denver, 

June 7-10, 1898, J. A. M. A. 30:1373-1380. 1898; Med. News 

72:737-740, 1898. 
Answer to His Critics, Med. News 73:335-337, 1898. 
Bacillus Icteroides (Sanarelli) and Bacillus X (Sternberg), J. A. M. 

A. 30:233, 1898; Tr. Assn. Am. Physicians 13:61-72, 1898; German 

Translation: Centralbl. f. Bakteriol., etc., 1 Abt. 23:769-777, 1898. 
The Bacteriology of Yellow Fever, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull. 9: 

119, 1898. 
Dr. Klebs' Ameba of Yellow Fever, J. A. M. A. 30:1054, 1898. 
The Malarial Parasite, Youth's Companion 72:204, 1898. 
The Medical Department of the Army, Med. Rec. 54:213-214, 1898; 

Med. News 73:182, 1898. 
The Official Summary of the Annual Report of the Surgeon-General 

of the Army, New York M. J. 68:793-798, 1898. 
The Sanitary Regeneration of Havana, Century Magazine 56:578-583, 

1898. 
The Work of the Army Medical Department During the Spanish War, 

J. A. M. A. 81:1356-1360, 1898. 

— 1899 — 

The Surgeon-General of the Army and the American National Red 

Cross, National M. Rev. 8:252, 1899. 
Antivivisection in the District of Columbia, Boston Med. and Surg. J. 

140:198, 1899. 
The Bacillus Icteroides as the Cause of Yellow Fever: A Reply to 

Professor Sanarelli, Med. News 75:225-228, 767, 1899. 
The Bacillus Icteroides (Sanarelli) and Bacillus X (Sternberg), 

Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. 1 Abt. 25:655-662, 1899; transl. Cronica 

raed.quirurg. de la Habana 25:161-169, 1899. 

— 1900 — 

Sanitary Lessons of the War, J. A. M. A. 32:1287-1294, 1899. 
Surgeons Wanted in the Philippines, New York M. J. 71:205-206, 1900. 
Yellow Fever and Mosquitos, Brit. M. J. 2:1391, 1900. 
Yellow Fever Etiology, J. A. M. A. 35:1039, 1900. 

— 1901 — 
Malaria, Popular Sc. Month. 58:360-371, 1901. 

The Transmission of Yellow Fever by Mosquitoes, Popular Sc. Month. 
59:225-241, 1901. 

— 1902 — 

The Dinner to Dr. Sternberg (with Address by Dr. Sternberg), Phila. 

M. J. 9:1120-1123, 1902. 
The Function of the Army Medical School, The Address at the Annual 

Commencement of the Army Medical School at Washington, April 

4, 1902, Am. Med. 3:547-551, 1902.^ 



326 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

-1903- 

Preventivc Medicine, Popular Sc. Month. C2: 348-358. 1903. 

Filth Diseases, Med. Mirror 14:13-15. 1903. 

Infection and Immunity, with Special Reference to the Pre\'ention of 

Infectious Diseases, New York and London, G. P. Ptitnam's Sons, 

1903. 

— 1905- 

Sanatorium Treatment. Washington M. Ann. 1:305-308. 1905. 

— 1906 — 

Preventive Medicine, George Washington Univ. Bull. S: 55-64. 1906. 

— 1907 — 

First Fifty Ctsct of Tul>ercul<*$is Treated at StmnBOOt Sanatortoni. 

W:.sliinirton M Ann. 1:337-347, 1907. 

-1908- 

Building of Model Houses. Repon of the President's Homes Com- 
mission, Washington. 1906. 

Addresses Delivered at the Complimentary Banquet to General George 
M. Steml>erg. M.D.. LL.D.. on His Seventieth H " Tune 8. 

1906. Compiled and edited by Geo. M. Kober. M : :ngtoo. 

[1906]. 

-1910- 

Housing of the Working Classes a Factor in the Prevention of 
culosis. J Outdoor Life 7:319-321. 1910. 

— 1911- 

The Results of Treatment at the Starmont (Tubermlosb) 
Washington M. Ann. H:50-56. 1911. 

-1915 — 

Small Homes Within the City Limits for Unskilled Wage Earners, 

Second Edition. New York. National Housing Assn. Publ. No. 27. 

1915. 
Researches Relating to the Etiology of Yellow Fever. Pan- Am. Sorg. 

and Med. j. SI: no. 4. 16-20. 1916c 
Historical K^sum^ of the Investigations of Yellow Fever Lending Up 

to the Findings of the Reed Board. Proc. Pan.-Am. ScicnL Coog. 

10:645-^^^ "^•■' 

nLANSt.AT10.\5 

Magnin. Antomc The Bacteria. Boston. 1880: New York. 1884. 

Galtier. V.: Injections of the Virus of Hydrophobia Into the Circula- 
tion Do Not Produce RaSie^ and Seem to Confer Immunity from 
the Disease. Med. Rec. M:227. 1882. 

Abstract of the Conclusions .Adopted and Propositions Rejected by the 
Technical Commission of the International Sanitary Conference of 
Rome. Translated from the French. Rep. U. S Marine Hos|». 
Service. 278-303. 1886. 

Also Co-Editor of A Treatisf on Asiatic Cholera, edited by E. C 

Wendt. New York. 1885. 



INDEX 



Abbott. A. C 239, 292 

Abo. Finland 145 

Adams, Emmett L 263 

Adams, Samuel S 291 

Addams, Jane 91 

Agramonte, Aristides, 132, 213, 
215. 217. 220. 277, 300, 304 

Ambulance train 173 

American Academy of Medi- 
cine 149 

American Medical Associa- 
tion 140, 185 

American Public Health As- 
sociation. .67. 93, 94, 140, 149 
221 

Andrews. George L 253 

Anemometer 17 

Army Medical Corps, 131, 159 
220. 244 

Army Medical Museum 69 

Army Medical School.132, 244, 246 

Army of the Potomac 4 

Arthur. W. H 177 

Ashburn. Percy M 211 

Ashford. Bailey K.. 212 

Association of American Med- 
ical Colleges 149 

Association of American Phy- 
sicians 92, 140, 149 

Association of Military Sur- 
geons 149 

Association for the Preven- 
tion of Tuberculosis 149 

Bacillus cadaverinus 118 

Bacillus dysenteriae 209 

Bacillus icteroides 221 

Bacillus malariae Th 

Bacillus "X" 117 

Baguio 233 

Bahia. Brazil 99 

Baldwin. William H..257, 263. 264 

Baltimore 90, 111 

Banks. Nathaniel P 10 

Barbadoes 97 

Bear Point, Fla 36 

Beaver Creek, I. T 14 

Bemis, S. M 274 

Benguet 233 

Berliner, Emile 259 

Biggs. Hermann M 135, 239 

Billings. Frank 239 

Biological Society of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia 149 



Boardraan, Mabel T 263 

Borden, William aine....l39, 249 

Bowditch, Vincent Y 264 

Bray, Grandin 3 

Brennan, P. J 263 

Brewer, David J 289 

Brown, J. M 172 

Bryant, Joseph D 136 

Bull Run 4 

Burgess, Daniel M., 70, 111, 114 
120 

Calmette, Albert 264 

Calvert, W. J.... 210 

Caminhoa, loaquim 102 

Camp diseases 182 

Camp sanitation 180 

Camp Supply, I. T 13 

Caoutchouc 98 

Carmona y Valle, Manuel 96 

107. 108, 110 

Carroll, James, 132, 197, 213, 215 

221, 222, 225, 277 

Cebu 232" 

Centerville, Va 4 

Chaille, Stanford E...70, 274, 279 

Cheyenne Indians 14 

Cholera 11, 128 

Clayton, Jere B 209 

Gearwater Battle 60 

Cleveland, Grover 136, 141 

Cleveland, Mrs. Grover 136 

Cleveland General Hospital.. 10 

Cochran, Jerome 71 

Cole, C C 253 

College of Physicians and 

Surgeons of New York 3 

Columbus, Ohio 10 

Contract surgeons 166 

Cook, G. Wythe 216, 263 

Cooke. R. P 224, 225 

Cope, Edward D 52 

Cosmos Club 149 

Cotegepe, Baron 102 

Cotta-Batto 233 

Councilman, William T Ill 

Craig, Charles F 210 

Crane, Charles H 42 

Cryptococcus xanthogenicus, 102 

104 

Cuba 112 

Culpeper, Va 7 

Curry, Joseph J 209 

Curtis, Edward 69 



528 



INDEX 



Department of Columbia.... 46 

Department of the East 89 

Department of the Gulf 10 

Diaz, Porfirio 106 

Disinfectants 67, 93 

Dock, George 197 

Downey, William F 263 

Eagle's Wing 54 

Edson, John Joy 253 

Education, medical 153 

Emory, William H. . 26 

Ernst. Harold C 239 

European trip 42 

Finlay. Carlos. 70, lOy. IIU. 113 
223. 273 

Flexncr. Simon 210. 239 

Flick. Lawrence F 263. 264 

Florence. Italy . . . . 45 

Fort Barrancas . . 28 

Fort Bayard ... '.39. 248 

Fort Columbus . 

Fort Dodge i 

Fort Hamilton . . . 25 

Fort Harker . 11. 18 

Fort Harris 139 

Fort Hayes 13. 14 

Fort Lapwai 55. 58. 64 

Fort I^gan H. Roots 139 

Fort McHenrv 1^ 

Fort McRce 
Fort Mason 
Fort Meade 

Fort Mycr . IJV 

Fort Pickens 33 

Fort Riley .13. 14. 15 

Fort Walla Walla 48 

Fort Warren 25 

Fossil remains 49 

Freire, Domingos. 96. 102. 104. 110 
Friedlander. Carl 

Gaines* Mills 4. 10 

Gallinger. J. H 219. 220. 298 

Gannett. Henry 252 

Gavino Yglesias. Angel 107 

Genoa. Italy 45 

Georgetown, D. C 72 

George Washington Univer- 
sity 237. 250 

Gibier. Paul 110. 112 

Gilmaji. Daniel C Ill 

GtSes. Dr 100. 102. 103 

CK>rgas. William C. 124. 213. 22.^ 

241. 266. 299 
Gould. E. H. L.. .253 

Governor's Island . 20 

Grangeville, Idaho . 63 



Gray. W. M 197 

Guiteras. Juan. 70, 223, 273. 274 
279 



Hague. Mrs. Arnold . . 

Halla KalU Keen 

Hamburg, Germany 
Hamilton. John B 
Hanger, G. W 

Hango 

Hardee. T. S 
Hartwick Seminar;- 

Havana 

Havana Yellow Fever 

mi««ion 

*' . ilator . . 

r$, Finlar! 
iioagiimU. C. N 

Hoagland Laborator>' • 
Holton. Henry D. 
Honorary degrees . 
H(H)kworm disease 
Tier. Mist K. P.... 

' i i'ital corpt 

Hospital ships . . 
Hr^ward. (^Vwtr O 



iiiiru. 



263 

54 

. 144 

. 134 

252 

. 145 

70. 274 

1. 2 

112 

Com- 

70. 274 

. 17 

145 

127 

127 

2J9 
149 
212 
252 

167 

ITS 

54 

4 

144 

239 



u.:,\, 



. 230 

in campaign) 13. 53 

ius .. 50 

• nal Congress on 
M kMc and Demography.. 265 
International Congress on Tu- 
berculosis 263 

International Medical Con- 
gress 144 

Internationa] Sanitary Con- 
ference 91 

'-^nd. Merritte W 305 

lla. Prince*5 . 100 

45 

Jacobi, Abraham 239. 264 

Janeway. Edward a 239. 240 

Janney. B. T 253 

Japan 234 

Jarvis. Thomas J 100, 104 

Jefferson Barradcs, Ma 10 

Johns Hopkins University. .91. 115 

Jolo .233 

Jones. Joseph 71 

Joseph. Chief . . S3 



Kean. Jefferson R 
Kidd. M. H. 
Klebs. Edwin 
Kobe 



22S 
13 

73 
235 



INDEX 



329 



Kober, George M., 216, 239, 251 
252, 253, 254, 257, 263, 264, 283 
299, 314 

Koch, Robert, 69, 92, 211, 264, 302 

Lamont, Daniel S 137, 206 

Landouzy, Louis 264 

Lathrop, Horace 3 

Laveran, Charles Louis Al- 

phonse 73 

Lazear. Jesse W., 132, 213, 215 
220. 221 

Leech, D. Olin 216 

Leidy. Joseph 14 

Leptospira icteroides 122 

Lewiston. Idaho 64 

Lomb prize 93 

London 42 

Looking Glass, Chief 56 

Luzon 230 

McCaw, Waher D 280. 306 

McConnell. Dr 224, 226, 227 

McDowell. Irvin 9 

McGee. Anita Newcomb . . . 168 

McKinlev. William, 141. 142. 184 
228. 235 

McKinley. Mrs. William 142 

Malaria 72 

Malvern Hill 10 

Manassas. Va 6, 7 

Mancel. Henry 274 

Manila 229 

Manual of Bacteriology 126 

Martinez. Emiles 70 

Matas. Rudolph 274 

Maus. L. Mervin 245 

Mauzy. Elizabeth Grant (see 

Pat'tison. Elizabeth Grant) . 14 
Medical Society of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia 149 

Medicine, Preventive 156 

Medicine. Scientific 150 

Mexico 106 

Micrococcus tetragenus febris 

flavae 113 

Microscopical work 69 

Middleton. J. V. D 173 

Miles. Nelson A 140 

Miller, George B 1 

Miller, Margaret Levering 
(see Sternberg, Margaret Lev- 
ering) 

Mitchell, Sollace 115 

Molo 231 

Monte Carlo 43 

Montezambert, Frederic 264 

Moros 232 

Moscow 147 



Munson, Edward L 291, 308 

Murray, Robert 87 

Musgrave, W. E 209 

Nagasaki 234 

Naples 45 

National Association for the 
Study and Prevention of 

Tuberculosis 256, 257 

National Board of Health, 69, 70 
71, 274 

New Orleans 26, 29 

Newsholme, Sir Arthur 264 

Nez Perces Campaign 53 

Nice, France 42 

Nikko 235 

Noguchi, Hideyo 122, 124 

Nurses, Female Army 168 

Ollicut 54 

Organ Mountains 100 

Osier, William 240 

Ott. Larry 57 

Owen, William 202 

Panama Canal 219, 266 

Pan-American Congress, 149, 223 
224, 225, 273 

Pannwitz, Gotthold 264 

Paris 42 

Park. Roswell 239 

Parker, Willard 24b 

Parsons, T. C 263 

Pasteur, Louis 74 

Pattison, Elizabeth Grant 14 

Pattison, Martha L. (see 

Sternberg, Martha L.) 
Pattison, Thomas Thurston 

Nelson 14 

Pensacola 29 

Petropolis 101 

Philippine Islands 228 

Philosophical Society of 

Washington 149, 237 

Phinney, Elihu 2 

Phipps, Henry 258 

Photomicrography 69, 71, 120 

Pilcher, Lewis S 239 

Plague 210 

Plattsburg Barracks, N. Y.... 139 

Pneumococcus 73 

Portland, Ore 47 

Portsmouth Grove 10 

Post, Lawrence 57 

Pratt Institute 127 

President's Homes Commis- 
sion 149,259 

Prevost, Chapot 102 



530 



INDEX 



Reed, Charles A. L 201 

Reed, Walter. 126. 131. 135. 196 

198, 213, 220, 227, 241, 243. 270 

273. 277, 278 

Reub^'n, Chief 55 

Reynolds, James B....261, 262. 263 

Richard. Charles 174 

Richardson. Maurice 239 

Riis, Jacob . . 260 

Rio de Janeiro . . 97 

Rixey. Presley M 239 

Rockefeller Foundation 122 

Rome 45 

l<MMscvelt, Theodore. 204. 259. 261 

Root. FJihu. 131. 219. 2iZ, 237 
2A7, 299 

Rosenau. Milton J 279 

Ruiz. Daniel 108. 109. 278 

Russell. Frederick F 310 

Russell. I^)«isa 11 

Russell. Robert ! 

St. Petersburg. Russia 140 

St. Thomas 97 

Sanarrlli. Giuseppe 2\ ' 
.San I'Vancisco ... • 

^.itl.-rl,-,- T^sliup Zl.. 

trch 69 

1 9 

SriU. Carl 120 

Sh.ikcsjieare. Edward 196 

Shutuck. F. C. .. .239 

Ml. iidan. IMiilip H 13 

■ ' "rric L. 263 

M.. Jr 263 

.--HI. Hi. V ii.iiio 172, 180 

Smith. .Alexander H 240 

Snnth stophcn 136 

in Institution 237 

\incrican War 158 

Startm»m Sanatorium 257 

Sternberg. Anna 1 

Sternberg. George N' 
birth. 1 : preliminar>- i 
tion. 2: early pursuit>. .: ; 
schoolteacher, 3 ; medical 
education. 3; in medical 
practice 3: Assistant Sur- 
getMi. U. S. Army. 4 ; Civil 
v\'ar record. 4-10; Colum- 
bus. Ohio. 10: Jefferson 
Barracks. 10; marriage to 
Louisa Russell. 11; Fort 
Harker. 11; Indian cam- 
paigns. 13; Fort Riley. 13; 
natural history collections. 
14. 35: marriage to Martha 
L, Pattison. 14; invention 
of anemometer and heat 



Sternberg. George Miller— C<mf<< 
regulator. 17; Governor's 
Island. 20; early experience 
with yellow fever. 21. 32; 
Fort Hamilton. 25; Fort 
Warren. 25; New Orleans. 
26; Fort Barrancas. 28; 
attack of yellow fever. .V^ ; 
Europe. 42; rank of M : 
43; Department of C- . 
bta. 46; Walla Walla. 48; 
Nez Perces campaign. 53; 
work on disinfectants. 67; 
early scientific work. 69; 

phnt •-' -.iphv. tR 7' 

Ha w f'ever ' 

mis lalaria $'. 

72: of pn* 

coc' >rt Mav<: 

dei' of tu* 

l>a«. Departmi : 

East. 8V. Baltimore. 90. In 
temational Saniury Con- 
ference. 91 ; dem 
of malaria plasm' 
Berlin. 92; I ' 
vellow fever 
94; Brazil 
106; B.V 
ana invr^ 

low fever treatment. 114; 
methods of research. 11?: 
reiK>rt ov 
San Era 
Lieutenant - 
Manual of 

126; New i"..iiv. .-7. ^ i-i- 
eni consultant. 128; Sur- 



Cleveland. 1^ 
tainments. \J>7 
139; Wood's li 
International Mc 
^ess. N! 
ident 

Associate... 
membership, 
degrees. I • 
American War. 1.^ 
report, 159; Sam 
sons of tkt War. 185; an- 
swers to cricitisms. 201 : 
scientific achiex-emenK ' 
ing war. 209; ^l 
Fever Board. 214; Ic 
from Walter Reed. 
Philippine Islands. 228; re- 
tirement from Army. 237: 



INDEX 



331 



Sternberg, George Miller — Cont'd 
complimentary dinner, 239; 
letters of commendation, 
246; Infection and Immu- 
nity, 249; humanitarian in- 
terests, 251 ; International 
Congress on Tuberculosis, 
263 ; last contributions to 
preventive medicine, 266; 
Sanitary Problems Con- 
nected with the Construction 
of the Panama Canal, 266; 
history of Yellow Fever 
Board, 273; death, 280; 
memoirs, 280; congressional 
recognition. 298; dedication 
of monument, 305 ; bibliog- 
raphy, 319. 

Sternberg, John 1 

Sternberg, Levi 1,2, 18 

Sternberg, Louisa Russell 11 

Sternberg, Margaret Lever- 
ing 1, 18 

Sternberg. Martha L 14, 298 

Sternberg, Theodore 230 

Stiles. Charles Warden 212 

Stiles. H. R 174 

Stimson. Lewis A 239 

Stockholm, Sweden 145 

Stockton. Charles G 239 

Strong. Richard P 209 

Sully. A 13 

Surgeon-General 131 

Surgeon-General's Library... 138 
Sykes, George 4, 10 

Taal 231 

Tagalos 231 

Tokyo 235 

Tommasi-Crudeli. Corrado... 73 

Too-hul-hul-Sota 56 

Torney. George H 175 

Travois stretcher 62 

Tropical diseases 209 

Trudeau. Edward L 257, 264 

Tubercle bacillus 87 

Tuberculosis 255. 263 

Turkey Bridge 4, 10 

Typhoid fever 187, 192 

Typhoid Fever Board 196 

Tyson, James 239 

Union College 1 

Van Reypen. W. K...145, 146, 147 
Vaughan. Victor C...196, 220, 239 
Vedder, Edward B 211 



Venice 45 

Vera Cruz, Mexico 108 

Visayans 231 

Walcott, H. P 134 

Walla Walla, Wash 48, 67 

Wallowa Valley 53 

Ward, S. B 239 

Warren, Gouverneur K. . . . 25 

Washington, D. C 251, 261 

Washington Academy of Sci- 
ences 237 

Washington Barracks 139 

Washington Sanitary Housing 

Company 254 

Washington Sanitary Im- 
provement Company 253 

Weber, G. A 252 

Weeks, Henry Qay 270 

Welch, William H., Ill, 214, 239 
242, 256, 264, 303 

Weller, Charles F 260 

West Point, N. Y 203 

White, Charles B 43 

White Bird 55 

William I 92 

Williams, Theodore 264 

Wilson, E. H 127 

Wilson, J. C 239 

Wilson, Nathaniel 253 

Wood, Leonard 140, 241, 299 

Woodhull, Alfred A 150 

Wood's Hole 140 

Woodward, Joseph Janvier, 43, 69 
274 

Woodward, S. W 253, 263 

Worthington, A. Y 253 

Wright, J. P 173 

Wyeth, John A 239 

Wyman, Walter 239 

Yellow fever at Governor's 
Island, 21 ; at Barrancas, 32; 
Dr. Sternberg's attack, 38; 
investigations of Dr. Stern- 
berg, 70, 94; preventive 
inoculations, 96, 102, 108, 
118; microorganisms of, 96, 
102, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, 
115, 117, 122; Dr. Stern- 
berg's method of treatment, 
114 

Yellow Fever Board 213, 273 

Yellow Fever Commission 
(Havana) 70, 274 

Yokohama 235 

Zamboango 232 












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